Immortality Saga Part 3: Immortal
by yumeneko
Summary: Oh no... The end of the world is told to be brought about by the most unlikely person... Hakkai. Will everyone sacrifice Hakkai just for the safety of the world? Hakkai has turned antagonist and the fight is over!! But the saga will continue...
1. The Fool

Immortal 

_By yumeneko_

_Introduction:_

_Fourth fic in the immortality saga that started off with Warau Kisetsu followed by Never Eternal then Fake Lips. I took most of my inspiration from Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, metal/rock/punk music, some occult information and Anne Rice's novels (Especially "Interview With The Vampire".) What can I say? Beside all the Sanzo + Hakkai we'll be seeing in this fic, expect to find a lot of occult references, blood-filled fight scenes and the so-called "taboo mixture of technology and magic". This maybe an AU fic, but I'm not taking out all the Saiyuki-ness out of it!_

_Disclaimer:_

_Saiyuki belongs to Minekura Kazuya-sensei. Hibiemi and Quietus (a.k.a. Hiro) are my characters. The spells used in the fic are based on Final Fantasy spells.    _

Prologue:  The Fool It's that old ritual again 

_The legacy is restarting_

_I don't know what will happen to me_

_Whether I die_

_Or I live_

A young brunette girl approached an old tombstone dressed completely in black. Her eyes were a youthful cheery brown and a black mark ran from her right eye stopping at the middle of her cheek. It was the mark of the immortal. Her companion, a tall man with the same brown hair, emerald eyes and the same black mark wearing glasses, watched the younger girl's every move. Wearing no smile, she crouched near the tombstone and slashed her wrists over it. She watched the blood trickle down the cold stone. The blood traced the letters on the tombstone.

"Hoshizora Hakkai" 

Her eyes slowly shifted to green as her skin lost its color. Her breathing quickened. She was dying. Her lips slowly became blue together with her fingernails. She collapsed as all the blood finally pumped out of her, staining the tombstone a deep scarlet of blood. Her companion caught her as she died. Time passed and suddenly the wind shuddered.

"I feel his presence... He's near." She awakened from her momentary death.

"It can't be... The Silver Apocalypse?" The older immortal whispered as he looked towards the bright city from the hill. He turned around to watch the younger immortal walk away from the tombstone where her blood had already been absorbed.

"Where are you going?"

"I also sense demons where he is."

"Let me go with you..."

"And risk the future? Never. Let me go alone now."

The girl disappeared before the older man's eyes.

In a dark alley, another brunette, not immortal, became surrounded by demons. His eyes were emerald green and he wore glasses. He panted, trying to recover from the chase.

"Give up, fool…" One of the demons growled, "Demons rule this age…"

The man's eyes darted around frightened and suddenly a girl with the same brown hair appeared in front of him. 

"Looks like I got here on time..." The girl proceeded to destroy the demons with only a dagger. Demon blood and guts stained her as she wiped out the demons with a wide sadistic smile on her face. Suddenly as she was hacking away other demons, another one came rushing towards her from behind. Luckily, someone shot him down.

"Damn... You should learn to watch your back more often, immortal." A blond man with deep purple eyes and a red chakra on his forehead continued to shoot at more demons. He wore a black leather trench coat over his black clothing and had a cigarette hanging from his lip. The female immortal threw her head back to laugh as she eradicated all the others with one blast of magic.

"You should have done that earlier..." The blond growled at the immortal.

"If I did that, I would have not met you, monk... What in heck is a monk doing in the city like this anyway?" The immortal laughed some more with a clever smirk on her face, "Anyway, I know who you are... I know what your future is... You don't need to tell me. I will... and can... manipulate. Sayonara, Genjo Kouryuu... Take care of him, will you, Hakkai?" She quickly stabbed the monk in the torso and disappeared.

"Kuso…" The monk collapsed on the ground. Thinking quickly, the man named Hakkai tore off a strip of cloth from his shirt and wrapped it around Kouryuu's waist.

"Please don't die out here…" He quickly dialed a number on his cellphone, "Gojyo, are you home? Good. Please go quickly to the alley between the bank and the library… I need some help here."

Soon, a green sleek car pulled over nearby and a redhead man with red eyes got out quickly. Kouryuu was losing blood fast and fear was shining in Hakkai's green eyes.

"Thank heavens you're here, Gojyo… Quick, let's get this guy back to our place… He's bleeding badly…"

Gojyo nodded as he took Kouryuu from Hakkai's arms. Hakkai got into the back seat with Kouryuu and took out a first-aid kit from under the driver's seat. Gojyo hopped into the driver's seat and set out for their apartment.

Meanwhile, as Kouryuu was driven to Hakkai's apartment, the immortal girl reappeared in front of an old mansion.

"Qui-niichan… Tadaima. I found him."

"Okaeri, Hibiemi-chan. Any plans?" The older immortal opened the door.

"Kill him." Hibiemi smiled, "We can't let the Silver Apocalypse come…" 

The moonlight shone upon the gold nameplate in front of the mansion. 

_"Maison De Hoshizora" _


	2. The Magician

Chapter 1: The Magician 

"Ohayou…" Kouryuu heard a serene voice ringing in his head. He slowly opened his eyes to see the man the immortal called "Hakkai".

"Are you okay?" Hakkai asked as he took Kouryuu's hand in his. Kouryuu looked away from his face, it's been a long time since anyone has ever held his hand.

"I'm okay… Don't worry about me. If you don't mind, I'll have to get back to my temple." Kouryuu sat up.

"There's breakfast in the dining room if you want it. My roommates, Gojyo and Goku are there right now. I'm sure you'll all get along fine." Hakkai smiled. Kouryuu got up from the bed and put his boots on. He took his trench coat with him and began to leave but before he left the bedroom, he looked at Hakkai and replied…

"Thank you. I won't need breakfast. I'll be okay in my temple." 

"If you'd like, I'll drive you there…" Hakkai smiled.

"I'd rather go alone…" Kouryuu muttered.

"Really… You might open your wound again." The brunette insisted, "And I still have a few more questions to ask you."

"Okay. I'll take the ride." Kouryuu sighed as he opened the door. Hakkai smiled broadly and took Kouryuu's hand again.

"Ne! Hakkai! Where are you going?" A boy with golden eyes asked the brunette.

"I'll just be taking the monk back to his temple. Don't bother to leave any breakfast for me. I'll eat out." Hakkai smiled.

"Oi, Hakkai." Gojyo started, "Will you go buy a pack of cigarettes for me? I just ran out of them last night." 

"Hai, hai…" Hakkai chuckled.

Before Kouryuu and Hakkai reached the door, Gojyo clamped his hand on Kouryuu's wrist.

"So you're Kouryuu, eh?" Gojyo smirked, "Don't turn down Hakkai's kindness… He spent all night taking care of you…"

"I won't…" Kouryuu turned away from Gojyo hastily.

"Have a safe trip, Hakkai…" Gojyo smiled at his brunette roommate. Hakkai nodded and exited with Kouryuu.

The sun was brightly shining on that morning as Hakkai and Kouryuu drove off to the temple on the outskirts of town. Upbeat jazz music was playing in the car and Hakkai was still wearing his bright smile.

"Oi, Hakkai… What were you going to ask me?" Kouryuu asked. 

Hakkai lowered the volume of the music, "I was going to ask how did that immortal know our names. I never even met her. And I guess you haven't either."

"No. I haven't. But I have a strange feeling that she has met us before in a past life. That's how immortals are." Kouryuu murmured, "Take the right here or else you'll have to turn around."

"Hai." Hakkai smiled as he turned right on Kouryuu's orders, "Ne, Kouryuu-san, why were you in the alley last night?"

"It's my job. I'm a demon hunter. The temple's always bare unless it's festival time. No one seems to believe in any god in this age of demons." Kouryuu sighed as he looked out his window, "Here we are. The old temple…" He stepped out of the car, "Thank you, Hakkai-san. I'll look forward to seeing you during festival time…"

"Don't mention it!" Hakkai cheerfully smiled as he drove off to the nearest coffee house.

Kouryuu climbed up the steps towards the temple, all he had in his mind for the meantime was Hakkai, "Why does he ring a bell in my head… There's something familiar about him I can't describe…" He finally reached the top of the temple. The old temple was almost bare except for an old woman offering incense and praying to the gods.

"I guess I'll have to go back to being a monk for the meantime…" Kouryuu walked towards his quarters. He opened his closet and pulled out a neatly folded robe, a Sanzo's crown and the Maten Kyoumon. He took off his demon hunting gear and donned on his monkwear. He stepped outside to supervise the temple. The old woman was still praying. The wind played with the wind chime hanging nearby.

Later, a young man came to the temple to fetch the old lady. The old lady turned and proceeded to her grandson but she stumbled halfway there. Kouryuu, with nothing to do, helped the old lady up and took her to her grandson.

"Arigatou." The old lady bowed to the monk slowly.

"Arigatou." The young man followed suit.

It was another lazy day for a monk in a quiet temple. 


	3. The High Priestess

Chapter 2: The High Priestess 

"Red or white?" Quietus asked Hibiemi in the mansion during dinnertime.

"Same old question for almost a century… Same old answer you get. Red." The young immortal lazily summoned a wine glass to her hand from the cupboard.

"Isn't it quite boring… Living for more than a century… drinking the same wine all over again… For once we should try living like mortals… I can remember my mortal life so clearly… Eating at fast food places, shopping at malls, going clubbing. It all stopped once I became immortal." Quietus approached the dining table with the wine bottle in his hand.

"I'm used to this life…" Hibiemi sighed as she summoned the wine bottle from Quietus' hand to her own, "My mortal life was worse than this…"

"Geez… Is summoning things at dinnertime a habit?"

"No." Hibiemi laughed, "It was boring to keep on standing up just to fetch the wine bottle and the wine glass. Would you like me to summon a wine glass for you, or would you like to summon it yourself?"

"I'll do it…" Quietus muttered as he summoned a wine glass from the cupboard, "Do you think I'm annoying you by looking exactly like Hakkai?"

"No. You're good company." Hibiemi sighed, "Please don't refer to the one who passed away…"

"Your former brother?" Quietus poured himself a glass of wine, "I know how you feel. The car accident. I think it was hard to bear as an immortal. I don't think I could stand looking at everyone like that. Especially what happened to Hakkai."

Suddenly, Hibiemi stopped breathing. The memory was coming back all over again. She couldn't move in the crashed car. Help was too far to reach. Her father was pinned to his seat, suffocating on his airbag. The flames were surrounding her. The car tumbled forward and hit a tree. The branches broke through the windows and pierced her limbs. The branches popped the airbag and the hot air burnt her father's face. He stopped breathing. She couldn't look anymore. Crying for her brother, she looked behind. A sharp branch impaled Hakkai. It was too much to bear. The Hoshizora's were dead. She closed her eyes and wished to die.

"Hibi-chan! Wake up!" Quietus shook her. The young immortal's breath came rushing back. Her skin became flushed with color again. She was alive.

"Gomenasai… Qui-niichan…" Hibiemi resumed eating, "I just can't get over losing my whole family. Everyone thought I was dead, too. Red wine, red wine… Color of blood…" She played around with the wine in her glass and took a quick sip, "Let's say we pay a little visit to that monk in his temple today… Just shape shift yourself into someone else… I'm sure he'll get shocked if he sees you as Hakkai…"

"Is it because of the Silver Apocalypse?" Quietus asked.

"No." Hibiemi smiled, "It's because I just want to pay him a visit. I wouldn't like him meddling with our plans…"


	4. The Empress

Chapter 3: The Empress 

Kouryuu lazily sat in front of the temple. The air was cool in the temple compared to the temperature in the city below. No one visits except for old ladies as always. But this day, something was different. The wind began to blow a more pleasing breeze. Kouryuu, sensing something, looked towards the entrance of the temple. It was the immortal from last night accompanied by another immortal with blue hair and pink eyes.

"Genjo Kouryuu, I presume?" The younger immortal asked. She wasn't wearing the dark clothes Kouryuu imagined immortals to be wearing. Instead she was in a typical cheery casual long-sleeved shirt with jeans. The immortal behind her looked as if he was ready to go out to the mall as well.

"What are you doing here, you immortal?" Kouryuu growled.

"Easy. Just wanted to pay a visit." The young immortal smiled from ear to ear, "By the way, atashi no namae wa Hibiemi desu. My companion here is Hiro. I believe we've met last night, ne?" She bowed with respect to the monk.

"I know there's something behind this…" Kouryuu said slightly ticked off.

"Mou! There's nothing behind this!" Hiro laughed, giving the monk a hard pat on the back. I don't believe pat is the right word to describe it since it made Kouryuu cough, "We just wanna get along with a fellow demon hunter."

"Hai, hai!" Hibiemi continued to grin, "Do you know the old Hoshizora mansion in Nijiyama?"

"Nijiyama? Isn't that the town beyond Hoshizora Hill?" Kouryuu asked.

"Hai…" Hibiemi stood straight, "If you'd like, we can talk about this over tea…"

"So… What are you up to?" Kouryuu asked the immortals as they sipped their tea.

"We simply just want to, y'know, hang out with you." Hiro grinned.

"We miss our mortal lives. It would be fun to have you and those men from the apartment hang out with us…" Hibiemi said with a friendly smile.

"Question." Kouryuu stopped the dialogue, "Why did you stab me last night?"

"Easy…" Hibiemi smiled maliciously, "I manipulate."

"Why then… I guess all this must have been a plan of some sort." Kouryuu's suspicions rose.

"If I didn't stab you last night, you wouldn't have met Hakkai, Gojyo and Goku." Hibiemi countered.

"What difference does meeting them make?" Kouryuu continued to argue.

Hibiemi plastered a calm, familiar smile on her face, "You'll find out soon enough, Kouryuu-san…"

"So… Do you accept our offer? Spend a lazy afternoon with us in the Hoshizora mansion." Hiro persuaded.

"If Hakkai accepts, I accept."

"Good."

"Saa, Hiro-niichan… Let's go visit a little apartment…" Hibiemi cheerfully exited the temple with her subordinate.

"That's strange… How come she knows everything…?" Kouryuu murmured as they left in their sleek black Chevrolet, "And damn are they rich…"


	5. The Emperor

Chapter 4: The Emperor 

"Sumimasen…" Quietus, playing the role of the blue-haired pink-eyed Hiro again knocked on the door of Hakkai's apartment. The mark of the immortal was hidden under his disguise, "I'm here to see Mr. Kawaji Hakkai. Is he home right now?"

"What's your business, bub?" Gojyo opened the door.

"I'd like to talk to him about what happened last night." Hiro smiled, "I'm sure he's curious about that immortal who stabbed Genjo Kouryuu."

"Go right inside. I'd like to hear what you have to say." Hakkai appeared before the shape shifter.

"So tell me about that immortal. Why does she know our names? Why did she stab Kouryuu? Why did she find me in the first place?" Hakkai started to ask.

"All I can tell you for now is that she was supposed to be dead a century ago. Do you know about the Hoshizora family?" Hiro acted, hiding his knowledge.

"You mean that millionaire family that suddenly died a century ago. You mean she's one of them?" Hakkai asked back.

"Hai. Hoshizora Hibiemi. She still keeps that money up. She was the one who stabbed Kouryuu last night." Hiro answered.

"Why?" Hakkai asked again.

"I really don't know. That immortal's got tricks up her sleeves. I suggest you see her personally with Kouryuu. You can bring your friends along." Hiro smiled calmly, "I'm her subordinate… Hiro. Cho Hiro…"

_Cho Hiro? _Hakkai paused. _There's something familiar about his name… I just can't tell what it is though…_

"Are you sure you have nothing up your sleeves?" Hakkai continued to pry.

"Iie. I assure you that Hoshizora-san has no ill will against you or Kouryuu…"   

"So you mean that me and Kouryuu should see this Hoshizora in her mansion…?" 

"Hai. Please come by tomorrow afternoon. It would be fun to spend a day with mortals like you…" Hiro smiled.

"Matte." Hakkai stopped Hiro as he was about to leave the apartment, "You're an immortal, too?"

"Hai. We just keep it secret…" Hiro smiled as he finally left.

"Quietus, how did it go?" Hibiemi asked her subordinate as he got into the car.

"He agrees to come by tomorrow…" Quietus smiled ominously.

"Good. Saa… Let's get ready for tomorrow's little 'reunion'…" Hibiemi smiled as the older immortal started the car up.

That night, Hakkai couldn't sleep. There were so many things swimming in his mind. 

"It's only been a day since I've met Kouryuu, but I feel as if I've known him all my life… Ever since that immortal came into the picture, I felt so… different. It's as if I've been lured into something… Maybe that immortal does have a trick up her sleeve… Maybe there's something about me only she knows… I must find out the truth…"

But unknown to either of them, there was a strange man in glasses walking down the streets of the city on that night. Draped in a trench coat with a cigarette hanging from his mouth, he smiled as he continued walking unnoticed.

"Oh where, oh where has my little puppet gone? Oh where, oh where could she be? Immortal or not, I'll find her soon, oh where, oh where could she be…"


	6. The Hierophant

Chapter 5: The Hierophant 

"Hakkai… Are you sure Mr. Monk's coming with us?" Goku asked from the backseat.

"And more importantly, why am I sitting in the backseat with bakazarou here?!" Gojyo complained.

"Maa, maa… Kouryuu-san's a guest. We should show hospitality…" Hakkai smiled as he saw Kouryuu descending the steps of the temple in casual clothes, "Konnichiwa, Kouryuu-san! So… Are we all ready then?"

"Hai!!" Goku cheered, "Na, Hakkai… Are you sure they do have a pool?"

"Of course they have a pool, bakazarou!! What kind of damn millionaire doesn't own one?!" Gojyo replied violently.

"A hydrophobic!" Hakkai laughed as he drove on.

So off they went into the direction of Nijiyama. Meanwhile, as the four drove on, the immortals kept the mansion spick and span. 

"Naa… Hibi-chan… Why in heck do we have to do this?" Quietus moaned in an apron as he vacuumed the carpets.

"One, we don't have any servants. Two, we want a good impression, ne? Three, what fun could a dusty old mansion be?" Hibiemi enumerated the reasons on her fingers, "By the way… we do have powers for a reason. So if you don't like vacuuming the carpets…"

"Sou… You're right." Quietus thought as he left the vacuum and controlled it with his mind.

An hour later, the doorbell rang.

"Konnichiwa!" Hibiemi greeted the four at the mansion's front door.

"SUGOI!! Hakkai! Can I go swimming now?" Goku bounded into hyperactivity.

"Hai, hai… Right, you're Ms. Hoshizora?" Hakkai asked the young immortal.

"Right." Hibiemi smiled as she welcomed the ikkou in.

"Are you sure you really have no tricks up your sleeves?" Kouryuu suspiciously whispered.

"I'm positive… I wouldn't be cleaning the house if I was…" Hibiemi spat back. Quietus, transfigured as Hiro came bounding down the stairs in a hurry.

"Gomen… I couldn't choose what to wear…" He laughed as he 'pat' Kouryuu on the back again. Unfortunately, it drove him to cough again.

"Sou ka… You must be Gojyo and Goku, ne?" Hibiemi acknowledged Hakkai's other companions, "The changing rooms are near the pool. Have fun."

"Let's get down to business, shall we?" Hakkai smiled, "You said you'd tell the truth if we'd come here."

"Of course I will…" Hibiemi smiled as she summoned a bowl of candy from the kitchen, "Candies?" The two mortals declined.

"So, Ms. Hoshizora…" Hakkai started, "Mind if I call you, Hibiemi? I feel awfully uncomfortable talking so stiffly…"

"Go ahead. I believe you want answers to why I know everything…" Hibiemi smiled slyly, "I think you'll find these pictures quite interesting…" She took an album from underneath the coffee table and showed them an old picture.

"I can't believe this…" Kouryuu looked unbelieving in the picture. It was him, Hakkai, those two companions of his and…

"You!" Hakkai looked up at the immortal, "You're in this picture…"

"It was taken a day before… The tragedy." Hibiemi said without a hint of emotion in her voice, "I believe you don't want to believe me…"

Kouryuu gave the photo back. The immortal slipped it back into the album and placed it back where it belonged. She got up and started in the direction of the pool.

"Where are you going?" Kouryuu asked.

"The pool. Obviously. You didn't expect that, did you?" The immortal smiled, "Let's just live a little, shall we? I didn't live forever to mourn over a tragedy that happened a century ago… Last one there's a rotten egg!!" She stuck out her tongue as she rushed off.

"CANNONBALL!!" Goku cheered as he splashed into the pool without concern for Hakkai who was just passing behind him. Due to the huge amount of water splashing out, Hakkai ended up drenched from head to toe.

"Daijoubu… Daijoubu…" Hakkai laughed as Kouryuu handed him a towel, "Watch out! I'm coming in!!" The brunette continued laughing as he dived into the pool. He rose out of the azure depths and waved at Kouryuu, "Ne, Kouryuu, why don't you join us here? You're wearing your swimming trunks, aren't you?"

"Anou…" Kouryuu shyly looked up, afraid to jump into the water. Luckily (or unluckily in Kouryuu's point of view) the blue-haired pink-eyed Hiro passed by and pushed the monk into the pool.

"Damn you!!" Kouryuu grumbled underwater. Luckily, Hakkai was by his side and dived to help Kouryuu out of the bottom of the pool.

"You're lucky you didn't drown…" Gojyo laughed, "This water's a nice seven feet deep!"

"Seven… feet… deep…" Kouryuu gulped. He turned to Hakkai and whispered, "I'm afraid of drowning…"

"Don't worry, Kouryuu-san!" Hakkai smiled as he secretly held him by the waist, "I won't let you drown…"

"Damn… He's afraid of drowning…" Quietus murmured as he stood in front of the diving board, "Hibi-chan… I wonder why such a stern monk could be so frightened of pools where he can't touch the bottom…"

"Search me… It could be his modern past…" Hibiemi shook her head as she pushed the older immortal aside and dived into the pool, drenching the nearby Gojyo.

"Ick… Chlorine…" Gojyo wiped the water off his face.

"Wai!! Diving board!!" Goku cheered as he sped to where Quietus was about to jump. He pushed the shape-shifter out of his way and jumped towards the very center of the pool…

"Chlorine…" Gojyo moaned as the waves from the jump hit him.


	7. The Lovers

Chapter 6: The Lovers 

That night, Kouryuu sat on the porch of the temple. The night air was nice and soothing upon his face. It was an unexpected delight, being invited to the so-called enemy's house only to find out that she actually did what she had done for a reason.

"And for what reason?" He murmured, "To show us the truth…? To bring back the past…? I wouldn't believe an immortal."

The wind continued to blow softly. Kouryuu heard footsteps coming towards him from the entrance of the temple. He turned to see who was coming.

"Konbanwa, Kouryuu-san."

"Hakkai?" The monk looked at the neatly dressed man before him, "What are you doing here?"

"Nan demo nai… I just wanted to give you a midnight snack…" The brunette smiled as he offered Kouryuu a box of rice cakes.

"Arigatou… Why don't you come in for some tea?" Kouryuu offered.

"Sure. I'd be glad to have some tea tonight…" Hakkai smiled brightly as he entered the shoji. Kouryuu walked towards the kitchen with the box of rice cakes in his right hand.

I wish I could just tell you how I feel, Kouryuu… It's been just three days, but I feel as if I've known you forever… I just wish I could summon up the energy to say it out loud.

Hakkai sighed as thoughts poured into his head. 

Meanwhile, as the night breeze blew across the city, a brown-blonde man in a tan trench coat walked in the park enjoying the night wind. He smiled as he sat down on a nearby bench.

"Ah… Heiwa desu ne? I wonder when will be this 'Council Of Immortals'…"

"Oh… Komyo Sanzo?" A second voice chimed in. It was a black-haired man in glasses with a cigarette dangling from his lips, "I didn't know you'd end up being immortal, too…"

"Nii… Kanzeon sent me here for a reason. She told me this 'Council Of Immortals' would answer my question…" Komyo sighed at the scientist, "Why are you here?"

"I've been traveling from life to life thanks to the reapers down in Pandemonium…" Nii smiled, "Ja… The council will be held in Maison De Hoshizora, ne? It'll be so nice to see puppet again!"

"Puppet?"

Back in the temple, Kouryuu poured Hakkai a cup of freshly brewed green tea.

"Ah… Arigatou, Kouryuu-san…"

"I don't need formalities…"

"Sou ka… Anyway, aren't you going to have some tea yourself?"

"I'll settle for some sake in the fridge…" Kouryuu rose to fetch the sake bottle.

"Matte… Kouryuu… Let me fetch it… You spent time brewing tea for me. It's only polite to return the favor." Hakkai smiled as he rose and went ahead. As Hakkai was in the kitchen, Kouryuu took one rice cake out of its box.

"Your rice cakes are good…" Kouryuu said as Hakkai entered the room with the sake bottle and a sake cup for Sanzo, "Did you make these yourself?"

"Hai…" Hakkai tried to hide the blush rising from his cheeks, "Those are one of the best things I make." He poured some sake into the cup and offered it to Kouryuu.

"Hakkai…" Kouryuu looked into his cup, "Do you know anything about that picture Hibiemi showed us?"

"I don't know… But when I looked at it… Something in my head reacted. There's something inside me that reacts to that picture."

"Same here…" Kouryuu sighed as he took a sip of sake, "We might have been a past life. We could have been in another life a hundred years ago…"

"A hundred years ago…" Hakkai's mind started to spin.

A goodbye? No… Hoshizora? What are these words? Sanzo… Sanzo… Sanzo… Divine blond… What do all of these mean? Are these all from a hundred years ago? 

"Hakkai? Are you okay?" Hakkai awoke in Kouryuu's arms, "You fainted… What happened?"

"A hundred years ago… They bring words to my mind…" Hakkai struggled to get up, "I don't know… They just get blurry all of a sudden."

"Sleep here tonight. I wouldn't like you driving out there with thoughts like that…" Kouryuu looked into Hakkai's emerald eyes with worry.

"Kouryuu… would you call me foolish if I told you that I feel as if we've known each other for an eternity?" Hakkai laughed.

"No. I wouldn't…" Kouryuu looked away, "It's because I feel the same way… Maybe we really we're drawn together by destiny…"

Hakkai looked at the blond monk. He couldn't believe the words pouring from his mouth. All at once he felt an impulse to just kiss him passionately.

"Kouryuu…" Hakkai gasped. All at once, Kouryuu's lips captured the taller brunette's. His kiss was burning in his mouth. Hakkai's eyes slowly closed as he drowned in the unexpected kiss. The next thing he knew it was just the feeling of his face pressed against the monk's chest.

"Hakkai…" Kouryuu began as he stroked the brunette's face, "I'm sorry… It just felt so natural."

"I don't mind, Kouryuu…" Hakkai blushed, "That's because I… I love you. I don't know why but from the first time I saw you, I suddenly saw a flash of my past life. I guess we were lovers in that past life… That's because I can't stop my mind from believing that you're mine…"

Kouryuu bent down to kiss the brunette once more, "Hakkai… Let's just continue this in my room… Shall we?"

"Demo…" Hakkai blushed even more furiously, "We aren't that serious… are we?"

"Hakkai no hentai!" Kouryuu smirked, "I only said that you'd sleep here tonight… We're not having sex! You do have a warped mind…"

"Gomenasai, Kouryuu…" Hakkai giggled, "Aishiteru…"

"C'mon… let's just retreat. Let's just play in the room before going to sleep…" Kouryuu smirked again as he took his lover's hand.


	8. The Chariot

Chapter 7: The Chariot 

"Maison De Hoshizora… Ah! We're finally here!" Komyo smiled as he read the gold plate on the gates of the mansion. Nii rang the doorbell. Soon, Hibiemi appeared to open the front door for them.

"Nii?" Hibiemi looked unbelievingly at the scientist at her door, "Are you here for the Council Of Immortals?"

"'Course I am, puppet." Nii smiled as he pointed at the black mark that ran under his right eye down to the middle of his cheek, "By the way, may I introduce you to my companion here, Komyo Sanzo…"

"Komyo Sanzo? You mean Sanzo's master?" Hibiemi smiled at the light-haired monk, "Nice to have you here! Anyway… Let's get to business… You've heard of the Silver Apocalypse, right?"

"The Silver Apocalypse? Isn't that the promise of the legacy?" Komyo thought, "Well… That's what it says up there in Tenkai."

"Hai…" Quietus sighed as he entered from the kitchen in his true form, "That's what I've learnt."

"Well then… How do you think we can seal this power, puppet?" Nii asked the youngest immortal.

"Hmm… I have no idea yet. But since the power comes from the legacy, why don't we destroy the source of it?" Hibiemi pondered.

Quietus held his head in his hands and replied, "Are you crazy, Hibiemi? If you destroy the Chameleon Heart, all our data would be deleted… Besides that, we don't know where the artifact is now… It disappeared six hundred years ago the last time I saw the Sanzo-ikkou… I think it was separated into shards since there are three of us in the legacy now… I have my shard of the Chameleon Heart. So does Hibiemi. The largest shard should be in the third descendant's hands. But most probably it wouldn't be in his house… And that third descendant is…"

Hibiemi sighed and looked at the scientist sitting across her, "If I destroy the Chameleon Heart, all who are part of the legacy will disappear. Cease to exist… Which means that history will be changed forever. This means that even the present Hakkai will disappear, too. No… What should we do…? We can't let the world go into havoc…"

Komyo sighed as he tapped his fingers on the table thinking of an answer.

"The sutras." Nii murmured.

"Nani?" Komyo looked at the scientist, "What about the sutras?"

"Don't they possess power? The same power I wanted to take from Sanzo so long ago?" Quietus said thoughtfully.

"I thought you were over thinking about taking over Pandemonium…" Hibiemi sighed, "Anyway… Qui's right. The sutras do contain a high amount of power. Why do you think they'd help, Nii?"

"Easy, puppet…" Nii snapped his fingers, "We'll have to find a suitable channeler to use them first. Then when we find the carrier of the Silver Apocalypse, we can seal it using the sutras."

No one said a word. After a while, Quietus spoke up.

 "Why not kill him?" Quietus murmured, "Kill the carrier of the Silver Apocalypse… That would be the easiest solution to the problem…"

"Quietus… You don't mean…" Komyo gave the ex-reaper worried looks.

"No. Not yet." Hibiemi stopped the older immortals, "We should take him away from everyone else first… We can't let anyone meddle with our plans… If anyone finds out what we're plotting to do, they'll want to stop us at any cost… By the way, I found this in Sanzo's house a week after I heard of his death a century ago…" She got up from her seat and walked towards a nearby chest and took something out of it.

"The Seiten Kyoumon!" Komyo gasped, "I can't believe it was in the hands of my reincarnated self…"

"Unfortunately, you were killed…" Nii sighed, "Thank goodness it was puppet who claimed it and not those demons."

"But what happened to the Maten Kyoumon?" Quietus asked the scientist.

Nii thought hard and hummed, "Well then… Isn't it so that there's a temple on the outskirts of the city?"

"That's where Kouryuu is right now…" Hibiemi smiled, "Ah!! Naruhodo!! Why didn't I remember that right away!! He had the Maten Kyoumon on his shoulders!!" 

"You have one heck of a bad memory…" Quietus muttered.

"So do you think we should claim the sutra from him right now?" Komyo asked the rest of the council.

"Iie… I sense something in the air…" Hibiemi hummed.

"And it stinks…" Quietus stuck out his tongue.

"Thank you…" Nii smiled placidly, "Thank you for acknowledging the scent of my fart…"

"AIR FRESHENER!!" Hibiemi cried out as she hastily summoned a can of Lysol from the kitchen.


	9. Strength

Author's Notes: The structure of the temple where Kouryuu resides is pretty much like the same type of temple in "You're Under Arrest" where Natsumi usually visits… Chapter 8: Strength 

"Ohayou… Hakkai…" Kouryuu lightly kissed his sleeping lover.

"Ohayou, Kouryuu…" Hakkai yawned as his eyes fluttered open. The two were both dressed in yukatas in the same bed. Hakkai sat up and stretched he looked at the blond monk beside him and smiled, "Another lazy day for a monk?"

"Maybe…" Kouryuu slightly smiled. 

Hakkai blushed, "I've just witnessed your first smile to me…"

"Oi! That wasn't a full smile!" Kouryuu frowned.

Hakkai laughed as he got out of bed, "Would you like to have breakfast together or should I be off now?"

"Do what you want…" Kouryuu went back to his usual attitude.

"Ah… Let me treat you out today! I always bring my wallet everywhere I go…" Hakkai laughed. Kouryuu nodded and opened his closet to pick out his clothes. Unfortunately, it was rare for him to be going out of the temple in the morning so the only sort of clothes folded in the closet were yukatas, robes and the night gear he used for hunting demons at night.

"Kuso…" The monk muttered as he picked out a deep violet turtleneck and the usual pair of black pants.

"Kouryuu… Mind if I take a bath first?" Hakkai chirped.

"Sure… Do what you want." Kouryuu lazily replied as he sat on the bed.

Meanwhile, back in the apartment, Gojyo worried as he ate breakfast with Goku.

"Na, Gojyo… Have you seen Hakkai?" Goku asked with his mouth full.

"Nope… Haven't. There are only two places I know he'd go to… It's either that temple Kouryuu's at or that Mansion." Gojyo said after he swallowed a bite of his sandwich.

"I think he's at the temple…" Goku said with his mouth full.

"Oi… Stop talking with your mouth full…" Gojyo growled at the younger boy.

"Mou… Why don't we eat out today?" Hibiemi yawned as she descended the stairs of the mansion. Komyo and Nii both stayed the night in the guest rooms. Hibiemi found the two playing with the Playstation 2 console while Quietus was nowhere to be found.

"That Quietus is a heavy sleeper…" Nii said as he kicked Komyo's ass on the console.

"Aww… You beat me again…" Komyo sulked as the words 'Player 1 wins' flashed on the screen.

"Well then…" The younger immortal stretched as she yawned, "I'll go wake up that damn ex-reaper…

Hakkai looked around for a good place to have breakfast.

"Ah… I know there's a good coffee shop around here. Are you comfortable with that idea, Kouryuu?"

"Sure… I don't mind where we're eating… Just as long as the food's good." Kouryuu sighed, "But then I sense something strange will happen soon…"

"Could be true…" Hakkai shrugged his shoulders, "Ah. Here it is… Oh… I guess your premonition was right, Kouryuu… Look who's in the shop right now…"

"Those damn immortals!" Kouryuu sulked, "Why don't we go somewhere else, Hakkai?"

"No… I think we should just get this over with… I'm sure they don't want any business with us…" Hakkai smiled as he opened the door on his side and stepped out. Kouryuu stepped out and was suddenly hit by a strange feeling of emotion as he saw one of the immortals that accompanied Hibiemi.

"Komyo… Sanzo…" Kouryuu gasped.

"What is it, Kouryuu?" Hakkai asked the blond monk.

"Nothing… Just some words flying out of my mouth…" Kouryuu looked down, "C'mon… let's go have some breakfast… I can't bear my hunger anymore…"

"Ara ra… Kouryuu-san's here today and with Hakkai. There must be something going on between those two…" Hibiemi smiled from her seat as she saw the two mortals enter the shop. Luckily, her comments were only heard by the older immortals with her.

"I'm jealous…" Quietus sighed in his Hiro disguise.

"What's there to be jealous about?" Nii asked the blue-haired shape shifter.

"He gets together with someone… And I've got bad luck in love…" The ex-reaper replied sighing.

"That isn't something to be real jealous about…" Hibiemi blinked as she was about to put a piece of cake into her mouth. She swiveled her sight around to catch a glimpse of Kouryuu passing by with Hakkai with a tray of breakfast in his hands, "Ohayou, Kouryuu-san…"

"Ohayou…" Hakkai smiled as Kouryuu pulled him by the wrist.

"Are…?" Komyo looked timidly as Kouryuu chose the farthest seat away from them.

"No wonder…" Nii chuckled, "They take to us like humans to demons…"

"Ah! Sou ka…" Hibiemi cheerfully raised her index finger and tapped it against her chin, "Isn't today a festival?"

"You've got a point there… The stalls will be set up near the temple as it has always been…" Hiro smiled before he took a bite out of his cake.

"Looks like we've got work to do tonight…" Nii joyfully chimed in. On the other hand, Komyo continued to finish his breakfast quietly.


	10. The Hermit

Chapter 9: The Hermit 

"Matsuri! Matsuri!" Goku cheered as Hakkai announced that they were going to go to the festival later that afternoon, "Na, Hakkai… Isn't the matsuri near Kouryuu's temple?"

"Hai." Hakkai smiled as he looked through his wardrobe for something good to wear, "We'll be watching the sakura with him…"

"Na, Hakkai… Are we going to see those people from that mansion?" Goku asked innocently.

After a short pause Hakkai responded, "I don't think so… I think they might be busy…"

 Meanwhile, at the temple, Kouryuu donned his clothes for the festival. There was nothing to do in the temple but attend to the religious and the little old ladies. 

"They can take care of themselves tonight… I've got better things to do…" He muttered to himself as he made his way to the temple grounds. The wind played on the treetops, humming as the sakura petals floated through the air.

He will die… He will die… 

"Nah! Must be my imagination!" Kouryuu shook his head in disbelief. The wind couldn't have been speaking to him… Must have been an illusion.

Later, Hakkai, Goku and Gojyo set up their picnic blanket near a thick grove of sakura trees. Gojyo got up and decided to go hunting for some girls to flirt with. Goku stretched and asked some money from Hakkai to buy food. Hakkai stayed in the picnic spot waiting for Kouryuu. Fortunately, within a few moments, Kouryuu saw Hakkai and walked towards where he was.

"So, how's this year's hanami?" Kouryuu asked the emerald-eyed brunette.

"It's fine. Do you wanna go around the park? I hear that there's a stall selling good candy." Hakkai beamed at the monk beside him.

"Sure…" Kouryuu responded in his usual tone, "Katte ni shiro…"

Meanwhile, near a masked fortuneteller's booth, Goku chewed on his treats. Looking over at the masked fortuneteller, he became curious and asked to have his fortune told.

The fortuneteller looked closely at his crystal ball and took a deep breath, "Someone close to you will fall into tragedy."

"You must be kidding, right?" Goku laughed.

"I do not lie. We never lie." The fortuneteller said, his mask concealing his feelings. Goku, noticing an ominous aura, ran away from the booth. The fortuneteller removed his mask… It was Nii.

Gojyo sat surrounded by many beautiful girls. He flirted endlessly with them, but something strange happened. Suddenly, the girls disappeared, the booths and the lights faded as well. He sat alone on the park bench.

"Oi! If you're some sort of beast, come over here and face me!!"

_Pitiful… Pitiful… _The wind seemed to whisper into Gojyo's ear.

"Who are you!?" he barked.

"What do you want?" A black kimono-clad figure appeared within a queer mist, "All I can say is the fate that befalls you." Her face was hidden under a snake-like mask.

"Tell me…" Gojyo asked as he kept his distance from the dangerous witch.

_He will die… He will die… _The wind howled.

"Oi! Is this a sign of some sort?!" He asked the witch harshly.

"It is… The carrier of the Silver Apocalypse must die…" The masked witch suddenly transformed into mist right before Gojyo's eyes. The illusion faded. The girls reappeared again together with the booths and the lights of the festival.

Kouryuu and Hakkai strolled around the park enjoying the festivities. Finally, they decided to go into the temple to pray. But as they took one step into the temple grounds, all the lights went out and the festival seemed to fade away. They looked around; neither of them could see each other.

"Hakkai!" Kouryuu looked around for his companion. He had disappeared from sight, but as he looked to the temple, he saw an older monk with light brown hair flying blue paper planes.

"Kouryuu… It's been so long since I've last seen you… My, how you've grown…" Komyo Sanzo smiled at his reincarnated pupil.

"K-komyo… S-sanzo…" Kouryuu's heart started to beat faster, "Shishou… Why are you here?"

The moonlight shone on Komyo Sanzo's face. The mark of the immortal was under his right eye.

"I'm sorry to tell you this, Kouryuu…" Komyo started, "But… Hakkai must…"

At the same time, Hakkai looked for Kouryuu. His efforts were in vain… But as he looked at the temple, he saw Kouryuu walking towards him.

"Kouryuu!! I was worried!" Hakkai cried out.

"I am not him…" The one who took the form of Kouryuu murmured as he shape shifted to Gojyo, "Neither am I him…"

"Who are you?" Hakkai asked with a tense voice. As the shape shifter moved closer, he assumed the shape of a wolf, "Don't play games with me! Tell me who you are!" Hakkai angrily demanded. The wolf stalked Hakkai and began to transform once again. This time, he became Hiro.

"If you're thinking this is the real me… Think again…" Hiro smiled as he slowly changed to his real form. His long blue hair shortened and slowly became a deep brown. His pink eyes darkened and became the same shade as Hakkai's. His body began to mold slowly into Hakkai's build. Yet his clothes were not the same as Hakkai's. 

"You are a demon hunter…" Hakkai's eyes narrowed.

"Good answer." The so-called Hiro smiled as the last part of the transformation ended. The mark of the immortal was clearly marked under his right eye, "Who am I?" He asked.

"Are you… me?" Hakkai asked the shape shifter.

"Chigau…" The shape shifter smirked.

"You aren't Cho Hiro, aren't you…?"

"Used to be… Now I'm not… What's my name?" The immortal smiled.

"Quietus…" Hakkai's eyes widened in remembrance. But suddenly, a horrible headache overcame him and he started to falter.

"Aa… Looks like remembering your past life gives you headaches…" Quietus sighed as he took his twin in his arms, "Not to worry… sooner or later you must…"

"Die." Both Komyo and Quietus said at the same time. The illusion shattered. Everything went back to normal, but suddenly Hakkai held his head in his hands and started to run away from Kouryuu.

"Hakkai!" Kouryuu began to chase after the brunette. There was something wrong about him that he couldn't figure out.   


	11. Wheel Of Fortune

Chapter 10: Wheel Of Fortune 

Hakkai ran off into the cherry groves, his hands holding his head, trying to drive away the burning pain. In the midst of cherry trees he collapsed; the pain intensifying and beginning to fill his body. He struggled to fight back the pain but it was no use, the pain was still there, still feeding on his energy until he couldn't fight back.

Meanwhile, behind Nii's fortune telling booth, the council of immortals gathered.

"He's run off…" Quietus said as he sat on a pile of boxes.

"Looks like the Silver Apocalypse is going to rise now…" Nii smiled.

"That'll be easy. The Silver Apocalypse rises and we destroy it as soon as it comes out." Quietus smiled cheerfully.

"Don't expect it to be that easy, Quietus…" Hibiemi looked darkly at her subordinate, "You don't know what the Silver Apocalypse really is…"

"She's right…" Komyo sighed, "The Silver Apocalypse is a prophesy of doom. According to the files up there in Tenkai, the Silver Apocalypse describes a rising of a power that resides inside the weakest. We first thought the carrier would be a child. We didn't really expect that the power would reside in Hakkai. By the way, how come he's the weakest?"

"Qui, have you noticed any difference between the Cho Hakkai of 600 years ago and Cho Hakkai's reincarnation today?" Hibiemi asked the shape shifting immortal.

"I have. One, he's weaker than he was 600 years ago. Two, he tends to look to the others for protection. He seems to be a total wimp compared to the Hakkai I've faced 600 years ago…" Quietus sighed, "I could have killed him with my bloodsword if I still had it."

"Besides that, I've been looking into Destiny's computers." Nii said, "The database there shows that Gojyo, Goku and Sanzo had expertise in fighting. Hakkai on the other hand has no experience at all and is always hounded by demons. Perhaps that's why Goku and Gojyo are his close companions."

"Ah… Looks like the power coming from the Silver Apocalypse attracts demons, eh?" Hibiemi smiled, "Qui… We should track down Hakkai more often, we could benefit from all the exercise the demons attacking him would give us…"

"True." Quietus hummed as he tapped his chin with his finger.

"Hey, do you sense something?" Hibiemi's head suddenly faced the direction of where Hakkai was.

"Yeah… A high amount of power's surging…" Nii smiled.

"And the demons are headed right for him…" Komyo said with concern.

"No." Quietus stopped the three, "Leave him be. I'm sure he'll be okay without any protection."

Back in the grove, the surge of pain slowly died away in Hakkai's body. He slowly tried to open his eyes. He saw a silvery figure before him.

"Who are you?" He whispered to the figure.

"I am power… Don't you want to stop being protected and pay back all the protection the others have given you?" The figure spoke. It's voice stern yet light and silvery.

"I want to… But how…" Hakkai replied murmuring.

"Let me give you power…" The silvery figure requested.

Hakkai silently complied. Suddenly, he saw blood trickling down a cut in his arm. Slowly, more wounds opened. He looked at himself in horror; he was dying.

"What… What's happening to me?"

"It's your payment to have power. You won't die. You'll just give me some mortal blood. Then, you will have power."

Hakkai squeezed his eyes shut and wished that the horror would disappear soon. Soon, he felt his wounds slowly closing up. He opened his eyes. He felt stronger than he was before. And just at the right time, demons began to surround him. He calmly stood still as they came, he felt confident that he didn't need any help defeating those demons. He got into a fighting stance and suddenly the demons came rushing at him. A ball of pure ki that surrounded the brunette suddenly hit the first few demons surrounding him. Some of the demons ran away from the crowd, scared that they may die like the ones before. The rest were beaten by Hakkai's newfound strength. After a while, all the demons that dared attack Hakkai were destroyed. 

Hakkai felt good.

Better than he was before.

He didn't need to be protected anymore.

He could defend himself now.

And that power felt good.

"Iya…" Hibiemi shook her head as the wind relayed what had happened to her, "It can't be…"

"What? What's happened?" Komyo looked at the youngest immortal with concern.

"He's become stronger… More stronger than the old Hakkai ever was… But he's not yet immortal." Hibiemi said in fright, "Once he becomes immortal, the Silver Apocalypse will become reality… This world will be destroyed. We must kill him quickly!"

"What did you say?" 

The immortals looked at the source of those words. It was Kouryuu. He stood there with an angry look on his face.

"I won't let you touch him…"

"Kouryuu…" Quietus looked at the blonde monk.

"I know who you all are now…"

"Sou na… The memories of 600 years past have rerisen." Nii shook his head.

"They remember who we are now…" Komyo said looking to the springtime sky.  


	12. Justice

Chapter 11: Justice 

"If you're going to kill Hakkai… Tell me why. But I still won't let you touch him…" Kouryuu said to the council of immortals.

"Hakkai's the carrier of the Silver Apocalypse. Phase one of the prophecy has come true. Once he becomes immortal…" Hibiemi paused in the explanation. She was afraid of what she was about to say.

"This world will come to an end, Kouryuu." Komyo ended Hibiemi's statement, "Unless we destroy the carrier of the Silver Apocalypse, we'll all die. Even us immortals."

"Why don't you just seal it up like they do in every manga if you all are so almighty?" Gojyo came into the picture. He overheard their conversation, "I know Hakkai wouldn't do such a thing like that! And if you did kill him, you would all know that it hurts us more than it hurts you! What did we mortals ever do you immortals? Do you all have a grudge against all of us mortals?"

"No… We don't." Quietus spoke up, "But… Think about it… Would you sacrifice one man for the safety of this world or sacrifice this whole world just for a friend?"

"I don't know what you're talking about…" Goku walked into the scene. It was just then that he overheard them talking, "But, if that has something to do with my fortune, I wouldn't know what to do."

"Anyway, there is only one alternative to destroying the Silver Apocalypse. To purify it using the sutras." Nii announced to everybody.

"Hah! That would be so easy…" Kouryuu huffed.

"You think searching for five long lost sutras are easy?" Hibiemi looked at Kouryuu with disbelief, "Right now, we only have two sutras. Yours and ours. Do you really think you could purify the Silver Apocalypse with just two sutras? Then you're taking the road to a quick death, buddy… The Silver Apocalypse is not another demon you could just blast off. It's the promise of the legacy. It's a wild animal that eats up its owner. And that owner is Hakkai… And if you can't kill the beast, you better say goodbye to the owner, too. And afterwards, you can join him in the underworld 'cause the damn beast's gonna kill you next." She gave the monk a stern look before disappearing.

"I'll be in Hoshizora Manor if you need me…" Her voice called out one final time before she completely disappeared.

"Saa… If you're looking for Hakkai, my instincts tell me he's at that grove up ahead…" Nii pointed out as he disappeared afterwards. Komyo and Quietus followed. Quietus gave Kouryuu a pitied look before he disappeared.

"I'm sorry…" His voice, similar to Hakkai's hung in the air before fading away.

Kouryuu made his way to the grove. There he found Hakkai sleeping against a sakura tree.

"Is he okay?" Goku asked the monk.

"Hai." Kouryuu nodded as he checked Hakkai's body. No wounds, regular pulse. Everything was normal, "Is it okay with you if I take care of him tonight? Maybe what those immortals say is true. Maybe Hakkai might be the key to destroying this world…"

Gojyo hesitated. He pondered deeply on the question until he decided to leave his best friend in the hands of Kouryuu.

"Don't worry… I'll take good care of him…" Kouryuu took the brunette into his arms. Strangely, he sensed that Hakkai's aura seemed to be stronger than it was earlier that evening. He silently prayed that whatever the immortals said was untrue.


	13. The Hanged Man

Chapter 12: The Hanged Man 

Author's Notes: ARGH!! This maybe the hardest (and perhaps the most interesting) part of the story I've written so far… There's some lime up my sleeves so you better beware. I'm not a good citrus/lemon writer, so I reduce all the fun to lime. Hey, it makes sense… I'm just a damn kid. Well, even if my birthday's coming up in two months or less, I'll still be a damn kid by then. Boo hoo… I'm not old enough to write lemon/citrus… Oh yeah, for you peeps that really are sensitive, prepare the Kleenex. You may cry near the end of this chapter. 

Kouryuu laid Hakkai on the bed. He was still fast asleep. The blonde monk watched him in worry. With all the energy he was radiating, there might be demons that might attack him in his sleep. He admonished himself to protect Hakkai no matter what and starting to feel tired, he decided to take a shower before going to sleep.

As Kouryuu was in the shower, Hakkai's eyes snapped open. He felt a strange impulse pulling him to Kouryuu. He entered the bathroom silently, his feet making no sound on the tiled floor.

"Kouryuu…" His voice smoothly sounded across the room. Kouryuu's blonde head popped out from behind the shower curtains.

"Nanda, Hakkai?" He asked.

"Ah… Kouryuu… Embarrassing as it may sound… May I join you?"

Kouryuu paused before giving an answer, "You've taken baths with me six hundred years ago… Why not?"

"If you say so…" Hakkai smiled as he took off his clothes.

Meanwhile, as Hakkai and Kouryuu were in the shower together, Hibiemi grumbled as demon blood splattered on her coat. The immortals had to work with stealth to reach their goal, to kill Hakkai. Unfortunately, things weren't as they planned since there were a large number of demons attracted to Hakkai's power.

" Shit," Nii hummed, "Why do me and Komyo have to face these with you?"

"We want to kill Hakkai, don't we?" Quietus questioned the scientist, "Then we should have you two along. Komyo knows the Silver Apocalypse better than anyone else here and you on the other hand have your technology. It's handy having people like you for a stealth mission like this…"

"Oh." Nii replied, "And what would be your purpose here, Mr. Reaper?"

"I'll be killing Hakkai."

"Then what about Hibi?" Komyo asked.

"She says she'll stay here and watch out for demons." Quietus clarified, "I know she really wouldn't like the job of killing Hakkai…"

"Of course I don't want the job. I wouldn't be able to finish it anyway…" Hibiemi smiled as she finished killing another demon. The demon blood shining in its lustrous glory on the front of her black trench coat. Small drops of the blood were visible on her childish face making her look like some sort of vampire, "Saa… Minna… We'll have to wait until we're sure those two are asleep. Then Quietus will go in for the kill."

Hakkai held Kouryuu's waist as they both stood naked underneath the shower.

"Aishiteru…" Hakkai closed his eyes as he whispered words on Kouryuu's wet skin, "…Sanzo."

"I know…" Kouryuu clasped his hand on his lover's own, "But this isn't six hundred years ago…"

"Gomen, Kouryuu…" Hakkai giggled as he pinned Kouryuu to the wall and kissed him hungrily, "Why don't we just take this to the bed? I don't feel comfortable under the rain…"

Kouryuu smirked in response and turned off the shower.

When they got to the bed, the unexpected happened, Hakkai's smile seemed to turn twisted and sadistic. Pinning Kouryuu to the bed, he grabbed some rope his lover hid under the bed. He tied him to the bedposts and smiled as he got off him. He looked through Kouryuu's closet for a blade of some sort. He returned later with a light dagger.

"You'd give everything to please me, would you, Kouryuu?" Hakkai's voice seemed to play sadistically, "Then would you sacrifice me some pain? Just for tonight?"

"Katte ni shiro…" Kouryuu growled, "But you're not acting yourself…"

"Really?" Hakkai asked curiously.

"Somehow, you seem to be acting like that stupid clone of yours…" Kouryuu replied.

"Maa, maa… Kouryuu… You know Quietus doesn't know you like I do…" Hakkai smiled, "Just for tonight, please? Let me just fill my fantasies…"

Meanwhile, back to where the immortals were hiding…

"Why on a night like this?" Komyo struggled to suppress his instinct.

"I'm really jealous…" Quietus moaned as he watched the shadows playing on the lit windows.

"Oh shield my innocent forever child eyes…" Hibiemi looked away from the scene.

"Interesting… I wonder if Kouryuu knows that mortal blood is the ingredient to strengthening immortals?" Nii tapped his chin.

"What?!" Hibiemi asked in shock, "If Hakkai over there is playing kinky with Sanzo… erm… I mean Kouryuu, then… then…"

"It's no big deal…" Quietus hummed, "The big deal is if Hakkai's already an immortal and fortunately, he's not."

"It's psychology…" Komyo pointed out, "The power surge Hakkai's feeling must be the cause of all this possessiveness…"

"Could be." Everyone else nodded.

After a few hours, the immortals watched the lights go off through the windows of Kouryuu's room.

"Finally!!" Quietus stretched as he prepared to assassinate Hakkai. He checked his katana again; making sure it was free of demon blood.

"Ganbatte, Qui." Hibiemi smiled as her subordinate left to kill.

Qui stealthily entered the room. Looking around with perfect vision in the dark, he saw Hakkai sleeping beside Kouryuu. Kouryuu's arms clasped around Hakkai's, his wrists red from the rope.

"I really didn't want to do this but… Gomenasai, aniki. You have to die." Quietus took out his katana and prepared to thrust it through Hakkai's body. But something compelled him to stop. It was Hakkai's face.

"A-Aniki…" Quietus put his sword down. He couldn't kill Hakkai. It was like murdering someone he loved. He couldn't kill Hakkai. Even if he knew that he was just a reincarnation of his brother.

"Demo… Just for the sake of the world… You must die!" Calling upon his strength, the reaper finally thrust his sword down. It didn't hit Hakkai, but instead, it hit right between him and Kouryuu.

"Why can't I kill you?!" Quietus sobbed as he took his sword out of the bed, "Do you have some sort of power that holds me down?! Answer me!!"

"He isn't doing his job properly…" Komyo noted as he heard Quietus' audible sobbing.

"I knew it… He's been hiding it from us for so long… Hakkai was his brother in another life, too…" Hibiemi said with concern, "Qui-niichan… Get out of there, quickly. I know something bad will happen…"

"What are you doing here?" Kouryuu awakened. He had spotted Quietus with his sword drawn.

"I'm here to kill Hakkai…" Quietus growled in response. Kouryuu rose from bed and put on his demon hunting gear.

"Like I've said before… I'm not letting you touch Hakkai!" The blonde demon hunter took his gun from inside the closet, "Get away from him…"

"Kouryuu…" Hakkai slowly stirred out of his sleep, "What's going on?"

"Those immortals were trying to kill you in your sleep…" Kouryuu replied.

"Hmph! If my emotions didn't get in the way, I could have killed you, aniki…" Quietus smiled, "Let's take this battle outside, shall we?" The reaper disappeared.

"He's in the grounds!" Hakkai said, his senses working for him. He quickly put his clothes on and rushed after Kouryuu into the grounds. Kouryuu was already in heated battle against the immortal. Quietus' years of training gave him the upper hand in the battle. He quickly hit Kouryuu, but was blocked by the tough metal of his gun.

"Hah! Do you really think a gun can save you from my blade?" Quietus laughed as his blade clashed against Kouryuu's gun. Sparks came forth due to the friction and Kouryuu decided to take advantage of his long-range attacks and the reaper's force against him. He ducked and rolled towards where Quietus attacked from and as the immortal tumbled forward; he quickly shot him twice from behind.

"Where are your companions, immortal?" Kouryuu cocked the gun at the fallen immortal's head, "Or else I'll have to blast your pretty head away…"

Behind the bushes, Hibiemi couldn't stand to watch someone die. Out of rage, she tried to attack Kouryuu, but Nii restrained her.

"Let me go!!" Hibi stomped on Nii's foot as she continued to rage, "I don't wanna watch anyone die! Let me go now!!" A blast of wind knocked Nii away as she cried. As soon as she tasted freedom, she brandished her naginata and charged at Kouryuu.

Sensing the danger Hibiemi posed to Kouryuu, Hakkai quickly shot her with a ball of ki. But unfortunately, the wind intervened with the blast and dispelled it.

"Kouryuu! Abunai!" Hakkai yelled out. Kouryuu faced the raging immortal and blocked her naginata's blade with his gun.  The nimble immortal easily used Kouryuu's strength to her advantage and flipped over him using the naginata as a lever. As soon as she was behind Kouryuu, she calmed down and pressed the blade against the mortal's neck.

"Let us kill Hakkai and we'll spare your life…" She threatened him. Quietus on the other hand was recovering from the bullet wounds and struggled to get up.

"Kotowaru." The monk folded his arms across his chest, "Like I said before, I won't let you touch him."

"Very well…" Hibiemi walked backwards, preparing to kill Kouryuu. She eyed Hakkai and gave a small signal to Quietus, "I might as well kill you…"

She began to rush forward, but instead of preparing to slash Kouryuu in half, she turned and ran towards Hakkai. Kouryuu knew that was going to happen and pushed Hakkai out of the way at the exact moment the immortal jumped into the air.

The sickening sound of steel cutting gut and bone hung in the air. Time seemed to be suspended at that very moment.

"Sou na…" Quietus' eyes widened in horror. Tears seemed to fill his eyes as he saw the corpse on the ground.

"Atashi… Atashi…" Hibiemi's breathing quickened as she saw who she slew, "I can't take this… anymore…" She screamed in horror and dropped to the ground screaming.

"Kouryuu…" Hakkai began to cry, "Why did you do this… Why… WHY!!" He broke into sobs and screamed in mixed emotions.

"Let's run…" Nii said to Komyo as the tragedy happened, "I don't want to stay here any longer!"


	14. Death

Chapter 13: Death 

Hakkai lost his mind and screamed with mixed emotions. Kouryuu was dead; his body cut in half, his eyelids open, exposing the eyeballs facing the back of his head. He couldn't bring him back.

"And it's all your fault." He looked at the youngest immortal with vengeance. She was huddled on the ground screaming. She couldn't bear to witness death anymore, "You're to blame…"

"Hakkai… Dame… You could use that power to bring Kouryuu back to life…" Quietus pleaded as he ran to his brother's reincarnation.

"But she killed him…" Hakkai growled in pure hatred, "I'll kill her even if it takes an eternity!!"

"She didn't want to do it… Please… Don't be so hateful… Please be the forgiving brother who I've always known…" Tears streamed from the older immortals eyes, "You can bring Kouryuu back to life… I'll help you…"

By now, the younger immortal's screaming died down to sobs.

"Let him go, Qui-niichan… I deserve to die…" Hibiemi sobbed, "What's the point… I can't die anyway…"

"Stop that! We'll bring Kouryuu back to life… It wasn't completely your fault!" Quietus resented, "Kouryuu loved Hakkai so much… And I failed to kill Hakkai. Let's just say it's all our faults and just bring him back to life! I didn't want him to die either. Hakkai…" He turned to the mortal in weeping, "We never wanted to hurt you in the first place, but the Silver Apocalypse was within you… We'll spare your life tonight and bring Kouryuu back, but I am sure we will plot to kill you again. But I will promise… Even if it takes me another century… I will find the other sutras and ask Kouryuu to seal the Silver Apocalypse so that we won't have to hunt you down…"

Hibiemi faded away during Quietus' speech. She couldn't bear staying there in that awful temple in front of Kouryuu's corpse. She reappeared in her room. Porcelain dolls standing lifeless on the shelves, staring at her as if she was a criminal.

"Go ahead and condemn me, oh lifeless jury… I am a criminal…" She whispered looking up at the stony faces of the dolls on their shelves.

The rain started to fall. Hakkai looked at the immortal as he came closer and wrapped his arms around him.

"Aniki… Let's bring him back together…" Quietus pleaded once more, his black coat drenched with demon blood and rain, "I'll be here to help you…"

Hakkai nodded against the immortal's cheek.

"Good…" The immortal clasped his hands around Hakkai's and closed his eyes, "Just close your eyes and wish…"

Hakkai followed the immortal's lead and closed his eyes.

A bright white aura shone around the two as they used their combined power.

"Spirits of life return to us!" Quietus finally called out. A blast of white magic came down upon Kouryuu's corpse. His body mended and color was restored to his body. But something more powerful came forth. Quietus looked at Hakkai. He was wishing Kouryuu to be immortal.

"Hakkai… Are you serious?" Quietus asked with concern.

"Onegai… I don't want him to die again…" Hakkai replied with all emotion.

"Very well, I'll help you…" Quietus closed his eyes once again and chanted with Hakkai. The white magic surrounding Kouryuu began to burn a mark under his right eye. The two brunettes took a deep breath and chanted, "Immortality, forbidden to give… Reaper's blade, never to touch the skin… Spare death on the one we love!"

The white magic surrounding Kouryuu exploded in bright balls of light. Quietus shielded Hakkai with his black cloak and as the light died down, they both looked at Kouryuu's body. It was floating in the air.

"Levitation. One of an immortal's innate abilities." Quietus murmured, "Be aware Kouryuu, you can do more than this now that you are an immortal…"

Kouryuu slowly opened his eyes. Looking down, he saw nothing holding him.

"Am I dead?" He asked.

"You're immortal now, Kouryuu…" Hakkai approached his lover and traced the black mark of immortality under his right eye, "I wished you'd never die again…"

"Hakkai… But what about you? What if you die?" Kouryuu got up and looked at Hakkai with concern, "I can't let you die…"

"Sorry to spoil your happy moment, gentlemen…" Komyo Sanzo entered the scene from behind the bushes. He had let Nii run away by himself and stayed behind to watch what would happen, "But Hakkai mustn't become an immortal. Kouryuu, you know what will happen once he becomes one of us…"

"The Silver Apocalypse… You said there was a way to seal it!" Kouryuu blurted out, "The sutras. What if we find the other sutras?"

"That was exactly what I've said to Hakkai while you were dead." Quietus cheerfully pointed out, "Why don't we search for them now?"

"The three of us alone, are you serious?" Komyo nervously smiled, "Two demon hunters and a monk from heaven can't find all the other sutras right away! Why don't we gather the other two of the council?"

"Hibiemi's locked herself in her room. She won't be any use to us for now…" Nii said, appearing out of nowhere.

"Let me go see this for myself… Kouryuu, you're coming with me! You'll have to get used to your innate abilities…" Quietus said, slightly annoyed with Hibiemi's act of depression. 

"Oi! Hanase!!" Kouryuu growled as the immortal clamped his hand on his wrist tightly but before he could get free, he felt himself teleporting to another place.

Later, Kouryuu landed on the floor of the Hoshizora Manor on his rump, "Oi! What did you just do to me?"

"I've showed you how we immortals quickly travel. Teleportation. It's what Hibiemi did after the first time she stabbed you." Quietus smiled, "It's quick, but don't do it in public places. It's too risky."

"Oh… That disappearing act…" Kouryuu grumbled, "So where's Hibiemi?"

"Go try to read her aura…" Quietus smiled, "Look for the cold and windy type."

Kouryuu closed his eyes and tried to sense the youngest immortal's aura, "She's up on the second floor, third door to the right."

"Correct! You've just learned how to identify auras!" Quietus clapped his hands in glee, "Time for the fun part, Levitation!" He smiled as he levitated into the air with ease. Kouryuu followed suit.

"Good…" Quietus smiled again as he floated all the way to Hibiemi's room. Kouryuu followed. When the two immortals got to the room, Quietus took a deep breath and tried to unlock the door. As soon as he opened it, a chair came flying out to hit the two of them and the door was relocked. The chair missed its targets but it was still floating in the air.

"Lemme guess… Telekinesis." Kouryuu grumbled as he reached for his gun and shot the chair until it was completely broken.

"True." Quietus nodded, "Hibi-chan! Get out of that room! Kouryuu's okay! We'll be searching for the other three sutras."

No answer came from the room.

"Oi! Hebi onna! Are you going to help us seal that Apocalypse thing or are you just gonna sulk there?!" Kouryuu growled at the door.

"Leave me alone… I don't want to live anymore… I don't want to see anymore dying…" The wind howled through the windows of the manor.

"What was that?" Kouryuu asked the experienced immortal.

"Wind control. Hibiemi's innate ability. Every immortal's got one. I've got shape shifting. I'm not sure about Nii and Komyo's yet…" Quietus smiled, "Anyway, sooner or later, she'll come out of that room… Perhaps it'll be like it was one hundred years ago."

"What happened one hundred years ago?"

"She locked herself in that room for two days. No food, no drink. But starvation and dehydration don't kill us…" Quietus cheerfully said as if there wasn't a problem.

"Saa… Let's just leave to find the sutras tomorrow… Teleport yourself back to the temple. Hakkai's waiting for you…"   


	15. Temperance

Chapter 14: Temperance 

The next day, Kouryuu left in search of the sutra. He met up with the council of immortals outside the temple.

"So, what's our destination, Komyo?" Nii asked the immortal beside him.

"I've received news of a sutra held in a temple somewhere west of here. It's kinda far, so it's best that we fly there." Komyo smiled.

"Great! It's been a long time since I've went flying!" Quietus clapped his hands in glee, "Kouryuu, will Hakkai be okay while you are gone?"

"Yeah. I asked those two idiot apartment pals of his to babysit him…" Kouryuu said, "How's the hebi onna?"

"Fine. She stopped pining, but she says she doesn't want to come with us." Nii sighed, "Too bad… Her mind-control abilities could have come in handy…"

"Qui, why don't you ask her to help babysit Hakkai?" Komyo suggested.

"I know Hakkai's out for vengeance… Perhaps." Quietus hummed, "Oh well, being the oh-forgiving-Hakkai, I suppose he wouldn't try to kill Hibi-chan unless she really did mean to kill Kouryuu…"

"You called?" Hibiemi's voice rang out from behind Quietus.

"You teleported?" Quietus' brow rose.

"I'll just brainwash Hakkai to forget that I've killed you, Kouryuu… Don't worry, now that I'm fine, my mind-control abilities will work just fine…" Hibiemi smiled calmly, "But I still don't want to join the sutra search. One long-time immortal should keep an eye on the Silver Apocalypse, y'know… I'll relay information to you if I get any."

"Aa. And could you brainwash Hakkai right now. I'd like to make sure you do a clean job of doing it." Kouryuu requested.

Hibiemi shrugged her shoulders and went into the porch where Hakkai was resting.

"What are you doing here?" Hakkai asked the immortal lazily.

"The council asked me to brainwash you." Hibiemi smiled confidently as she placed her right hand on Hakkai's forehead and closed her eyes. She sailed through Hakkai's memory until she found the memory of her accidentally killing Kouryuu. Focusing hard, she erased the memory and opened her eyes again. The memory was erased.

"What happened?" Hakkai shook his head.

"I've just erased a memory. Feel happy now…?" Hibiemi laughed.

" I guess…" Hakkai laughed.

"Good. The brainwashing did work." Quietus smiled as he shape shifted into Hiro, "Say goodbye to Hakkai now, Kouryuu. Gojyo and Goku are here to take care of him."

"Oi! Quietus! You don't really have to put that disguise in front of us! We know who you are!" Gojyo pulled Hiro's ear before he ascended the stairs.

"Itai yo!" Hiro whimpered as he shape shifted back to Quietus.

Kouryuu walked over to Hakkai and gave him a goodbye kiss.

"Don't worry, Hakkai. I'll be back soon." Kouryuu said lovingly, "Oi, you better keep a sharp eye on him. I don't want the end of the world to happen when I'm not around."

"Yes, sir…" Hibiemi gave a mock salute and grinned, "I'll do my best!" 

And so, the four immortals quickly levitated until no one could see them from the ground.

"Where are they?" Hakkai asked his companions.

"Oi!! Kouryuu can fly…?" Gojyo said queerly.

"They're somewhere behind the clouds. It's kinda risky to go flying in broad daylight, so they're using the clouds to hide them." Hibiemi smiled, tracking them down by aura, "I hope they come back soon…"

"Ne, Hakkai… Isn't it lunchtime?" Goku asked the brunette looking up at the sky.

"Ah… Hai. I'll go prepare lunch now…" Hakkai smiled apologetically as he got up and made his way to the kitchen, "Hibiemi-san, will you be joining us for lunch?"

"Hai." The immortal nodded. She looked to the clouds again and wished that fate and destiny were on their side.

"Ahh!! Suteki!!" Quietus closed his eyes as he soared westward with the rest of the immortals, "The wind's so wonderful!"

"Sou desu ne…" Komyo smiled.

"Hora… There's the town we're supposed to land in." Nii pointed out, "Let's teleport ourselves into an alley, shall we?"

"Aa." Kouryuu nodded. The four paused in the air and faded away.

They reappeared inside a dark alley in the heart of the town.

"Well then, this town seems kind of rotten to me." Quietus folded his arms against his chest, "I doubt that the sutra would still be in the temple."

"True." Nii pondered, "Most likely, someone must have stolen it."

"We won't know if we don't find out…" Kouryuu said, walking away from the alley, "So, where's the temple?"

"Northward, perhaps. I sense a holy energy coming from there." Komyo said.

"Well then, let's go." Kouryuu said.


	16. The Devil

Chapter 15: The Devil 

Author's Notes: Woo… A new disclaimer here! Amida Toki is property of Uesugi Yuriko aka Murasaki_Honou. If you wanna know more about him, might as well read her fic, "A Twist Of Fate" ^_^ Tragedy befalls the immortals! Boohoohoo… I took a lot of inspiration from "Interview With The Vampire" and the OST of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. Sorry if Toki-san may seem somewhat OOC…

"Sou na…" Quietus sighed when the immortals inquired about the sutra to the head monk. The head monk reported that a blonde-haired man around his early twenties stole the sutra from the temple two weeks ago. They weren't able to capture him though.

"So, how do we track him down when all we know about him is his hair color and age?" Komyo pondered before he was asked by some other monks to preach to them.

"Oi, Komyo…" Nii started, "Why are you still respected as a Sanzo? You aren't even wearing a sutra…"

"It's the aura…" Komyo smiled, "They know I'm a Sanzo."

"But what about me?" Kouryuu asked, "I was a Sanzo six hundred years ago…"

"But you've been reincarnated. You've lost that aura." Quietus shook his head, "Anyway, if Komyo Sanzo here agrees to make you a Sanzo before he goes back to heaven, get ready to preach, Sanzo-sama."

"I'm not yet a Sanzo…" Kouryuu whacked the annoying immortal with a harisen on the head monk's table. Quietus simply giggled and watched Komyo preach.

"Great… I think having one of these harisen will come in handy…" Kouryuu smirked, looking at the harisen in his hands.

"Saa… I'll go find an inn to stay in tonight." Nii smiled.

"You don't need to." Quietus laughed, "Komyo's preaching has earned us a room here."

"Good." Kouryuu nodded.

Meanwhile, the sun was going down back in the temple where Hakkai stayed in. Hakkai watched the sun go down as Hibiemi and Goku went off into the kitchen to make rice cakes. Being the eccentric immortal she was, Hibiemi decided to wear a kimono the whole day. Hakkai on the other hand rested against the supporting beam of the roof on the porch wearing the same yukata he wore on the night he and Kouryuu became lovers. He held himself and sighed. He wished that Kouryuu would be there with him to see the sun go down.

"Ne, Hakkai-san…" Hibiemi waved a hand in front of the daydreaming brunette.

"Doushite?" Hakkai jolted from his daydream.

"Rice cakes?" The younger brunette smiled with a box of freshly made rice cakes, "I've been making them for a century. I'm sure you'll find them good."

"And they are!" Goku said reaching for a rice cake from the box.

"Hontou?" Gojyo came into the picture and took two rice cakes out of the box.

"I guess I'll have some, too…" Hakkai smiled as he took three, "Ichi… ni… san."

_Sanzo…_

Hakkai turned away and looked at the rice cakes in his hands. The same treat he brought Kouryuu on that same day. 

"Sanzo… Genjo Sanzo…" He closed his eyes and recalled the name from his brought out memory, "But he's Genjo Kouryuu now…"

"Oh… I'd think again if I were you." Hibiemi pointed out, "Komyo-san could make Kouryuu-san a Sanzo before he leaves for Heaven."

"Aa…" Hakkai nodded as he looked back at the rice cakes, "So which one should I eat first?" 

Back in the temple where the four immortals stayed, Quietus noticed that no one was with him in the room. He thought that Kouryuu wouldn't be going out of the room that night. Tracking down his aura, he followed the aura's path to the temple garden.

"Kouryuu-san…?" Quietus looked at the blonde staring into space, a cigarette dangling from his fingers. "You're worried about Hakkai, aren't you?"

"What makes you think that?" Kouryuu asked, his eyes not making any contact with the one who asked him.

"The way you stare out into space." Quietus smiled, "I know only someone worried could stare into space with eyes like that. So forlorn, so sorrowful… I've worried about the both of you for six hundred years."

"What do you mean, the both of us?" Kouryuu asked.

Quietus sighed and stared at the springtime sky, "You… and Hakkai. I thought I would have found the both of you a century ago, but I was wrong. That was the same time I found that little one you nicknamed 'Hebi onna'." The immortal laughed and shook his head, "Her family was killed in a car crash and since she couldn't die, she had to witness the gruesome deaths of her family. A few days after the funeral of her family was held, her brother's lover committed suicide. And a hundred years later, I've finally found the both of you. I don't want to let either of you go. Neither does Hibi-chan…"

No response came from Kouryuu. 

A rustling came from the bushes.

"Who's there?" Quietus asked as he read the aura of the one who was hiding, "You're an immortal, aren't you?"

"Hakkai?" The one hiding asked back.

"I asked you first. It's polite to answer the first question." Quietus smiled as he got into a fighting stance.

"Hakkai, can't you remember me?" The stranger came out of the bushes. His blonde hair and sapphire blue eyes looking so similar parallel to Kouryuu.

_He looks so heartbroken… I don't want to disappoint him by saying I'm not Hakkai or telling him that he has to die… _Quietus looked down to the ground and decided to play this stranger's game for now, "I'm sorry. I don't remember…" He smiled, looking apologetically into the stranger's eyes. Somehow a little part of him felt something for the stranger at that moment.

"Amida Toki." The stranger made himself known, "Now can you remember?"

_Oh… What can I do now? The best I can do is do the unthinkable and read Hakkai's memory from here… _Quietus thought hard as he stood still. He closed his eyes and quickly read Hakkai's memory. He finally found his answers and smiled at him.

"Gomenasai, Toki-san… But it's been so long since I've last seen you. What happened these last six hundred years?" Quietus beamed at Toki. The blond stranger broke into sobs and held the supposed Hakkai in a tight embrace, "Toki-san… Doushite?"

"It's been so long, Hakkai… It's been so lonely being an immortal all alone…" Toki cried in joy, "But why are you crying?" He looked at the fake Hakkai's eyes brimming with tears. 

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Toki… But… I'm not Hakkai. I'm just a twin brother of his. I'm sorry…" Quietus looked down as tears trickled down his cheeks. He pushed Toki away and ran, crying all the way back to his room.

"Toki." Kouryuu looked at the stunned immortal.

"Onii-san," Toki began, "Where is Hakkai?"

"He's back in the temple where I live." Kouryuu said, "But he'll die unless we find all the sutras."

Toki's fists grew tighter and he quickly stood up and threatened to beat up his brother, "You idiot! Why would you let a fate like that befall Hakkai?!"

"It wasn't my fault, baka!" Kouryuu pushed Toki away, "If you're looking for answers, you should have asked Hakkai's twin back there! I don't have answers! I don't know a shred of what's really going on here! All I know is that if we don't seal that Silver Apocalypse or whatever it's name is, Hakkai will… Hakkai will…" Kouryuu turned away as hot tears of furious anger started to form in his eyes. At once, Toki seemed to understand what his brother meant.

"Here. Take this sutra." Toki said as he placed the heart sutra on the ground, "You'll find another sutra in a town south of here. By the way, what's the name of that twin who ran off?"

"Quietus. Why would you want to know?" Kouryuu asked, his voice still stubborn and stern.

"Nothing… Just curious, that's all." Toki said as he disappeared.

***

"Loneliness… Loneliness so strong that it would drive you mad…" Hibiemi sighed as she looked outside the window of her room back in the mansion. There was no one in the whole mansion except for herself. He sighed as she stroked the hair of one of her dolls, "A fate worse than death itself. It makes death look like Nirvana. But the problem is… we can't die. We can't die at all…"

Unknown to her, far away back in the temple where Kouryuu met Toki, while everyone fell asleep, Quietus tried to kill himself in the gardens. But being immortal, he was revived again.

"I hate fate… Why do you let me live alone!? Why can't you let me be happy for once, fate?! You're always taking happiness away from me! I hate you so much!" Out of rage, he stabbed himself again with his katana. Blood was poured over the walls of the temple. Quietus fell into another temporary death. And the one to witness it was Toki.

"Loneliness to the point of madness… Driving you to kill yourself over and over and over again…" Hibiemi sighed. The doll's face showed no emotion. It was almost useless to try and make inanimate things happy, "Lonely as a mortal. Even lonelier as an immortal. Such a cruel fate to befall me. Such a cruel fate to befall all immortals living alone."      


	17. The Tower

Chapter 16: The Tower 

"And loneliness has crushed me…" Hibiemi whispered as she suddenly collapsed. The porcelain doll in her arms shattered into pieces. Teardrops glistened an eerie blue light as they fell from her eyes. As they hit the floor, they seemed to flash into green ripples.

Quietus awoke from his temporary death. His emerald eyes still foggy from death.

"I'm not supposed to be alive…" He murmured.

"But you are." A familiar voice answered him.

"Toki-san? Why are you still here?" The former reaper looked at whose lap his head rested on, "And more importantly, why did you care?"

"I can understand why you killed yourself tonight." Toki said, looking away from the brunette immortal's eyes, "Loneliness… Pure loneliness. By the way, why did you cry when you told me that you weren't Hakkai?"

"I… I…" Quietus sat up and started to walk away. He paused and took a deep breath. Looking into Toki's stern sapphire eyes, he told him, "I didn't want to break your heart."

Toki continued to focus his eyes on the brunette immortal's forlorn expression.

"There's something about you that reminds me of him…" Toki began, "But I've never imagined you'd remind me of him with such a sad face."

Quietus' lips formed a smile, "Toki-san… You have no idea how jealous I am of him…" He sat down on the garden bench and looked at the stars. Toki continued to follow the immortal with his eyes.

"He's got Sanzo… Now he's also got you… That makes me so jealous of him." Quietus closed his eyes and sighed, "I've always been alone my whole life. I wonder if it's like that for most immortals…?" 

A shooting star streaked across the sky. With his head still held towards the sky, the immortal made a wish.

"What did you wish for?" Toki asked the brunette.

"If I ever told you, it wouldn't come true…" Quietus smiled kindly at his blonde companion. Off in the distance, he found his bloodstained katana lying on the ground. He summoned it to his hands and sheathed it.

Meanwhile, back at Hoshizora Manor, an eerie voice seemed to fill the whole mansion. The young immortal looked out her window. She found a young maiden in glistening white robes kneeling near her father's grave. From Hibiemi's sight, she seemed to be the one singing the eerie song. Quickly, she made her way down to the foot of the hill to have a closer look at the mysterious maiden.

"Who are you?" She asked as she approached the maiden. Her robes seemed to be blinding white, a perfect parallel to the immortal's black outfit. But in a way the two looked similar. The only difference was that the maiden had forest green eyes and her hair was longer and split into six thin tails. The maiden smiled and disappeared, leaving blue specks of light that turned into green ripples before they hit the ground.

"Perhaps this is a sign of sorts…" The immortal murmured, curious of why the maiden and her looked so alike. Summoning a shovel to her hand, she began to dig up the remains of her deceased father.

While the immortals continued their work, Hakkai continued to sit at the porch, waiting for Kouryuu to return.

"Kouryuu… I pray you are safe…" He put his hand upon his heart, praying for his lover's safety.

On the other hand, Kouryuu lay awake in the temple where he shared the room with the other immortals. Worried about Hakkai, he couldn't go to sleep.

"Hakkai… I love you…" He whispered as if the wind could deliver his message. The wind blew gently through the window of the room. Carrying Kouryuu's words, the wind gently blew on Hakkai's face back in the temple.

"And I love you, too…" Tears trickled down Hakkai's face. Thankful for the sweet words the wind had brought him.

"Arara… Someone's controlling the wind…" Quietus sensed, "And it's an aura of a celestial being…"

"What do you mean?" Toki asked.

"The Silver Apocalypse is about to rise… And the one to save us is also about to rise. I don't know what it may do… I'm afraid that if it awakens, it may kill Hakkai…"  


	18. The Star

Chapter 17: The Star 

Toki's mind started to become blurred with concern, "Quietus-san, why don't we go and steal the other sutra in advance?"

"Toki-san, you're being a bit reckless… Why don't we wait until everyone else is here?" Quietus' eyes looked at him with worry, but as he looked into the other immortal's eyes, he found that they were filled with the strong urge to protect Hakkai. Quietus sighed and got up from the bench, "I understand now… Let's go before the sun rises."

Toki nodded as they both began to fly all to the point where Toki had known the presence of a sutra.

Meanwhile, on Hoshizora Hill, Hibiemi finally finished digging up the corpse of her deceased father. Brushing away the final layer of dirt upon the corpse, she found her father just the way he was on the day he was buried. His long dark brown hair held in a neat ponytail, his slightly tanned skin as soft as it was when he was still alive. Thinking fast, she remembered what happened during the car crash a hundred years ago.

As the young Hibiemi looked at the horrible death of her family, she felt something burning under her right eye. She looked at the rear-view mirror and saw what had happened. The branches of the tree had pierced through bone, muscle veins and nerves but even if she was supposed to be dead or at least paralyzed, her hands and feet could still function. Praying hard, she wished that her family wouldn't fall into this gruesome death but even if she tried, all she could do was erase all the wounds on their bodies. The branch impaling her brother shriveled up and left a gruesome hole in his body, but the wound was quickly healed. Her father's face slowly mended and was restored to its former radiance. She heard a gentle voice whispering, "The flesh will live on as the soul descends…" Then a strange force seemed to pull all of them out of the burning wreck but unfortunately, she fainted before she could look for the one who had saved her.

The immortal knew that by the words "The flesh will live on as the soul descends…" meant that even if the wounds of her relatives were healed, they were still dead and no one could bring them back to life. She shook herself out of her reminiscing and went back to her job. She searched around the corpse for something worth finding and as she searched inside the clothes of her father, she found a piece of paper in the pocket of his suit. On the paper was a name she only had heard in mythology.

"Astraea." She whispered and written on the back of the paper was another name, "Asura." She then decided to go into her father's room to look for more information about the names, but before she could reach the mansion, she heard a moan. The immortal turned to see that her father had become a zombie and the hands of the others buried on Hoshizora Hill were pushing out of the ground.

Kouryuu shook his head. It had been the eleventh time he couldn't get to sleep that night. 

"Kuso… Why is this infernal insomnia keeping me up?" He growled as he tossed in bed. Then, he finally gave up and looked around the room. Strangely, Quietus was not in his bed.

"The damn immortal's out of his bed. He must be up to something…" Remembering that the immortals once plotted to kill Hakkai, his suspicions were aroused and he decided to fly back to the temple.

Midnight came and Kouryuu finally reached the temple. Looking around he saw Hakkai asleep on the porch. He sat beside his sleeping lover and brushed his cheek with his thumb.

"Hakkai… I'm happy you're still safe."

"Kouryuu? What are you doing here?" Hakkai slowly awoke smiling.

Taking Hakkai in his arms, the immortal slowly levitated into the air, "Let me take you flying…"

Hakkai looked at Kouryuu with a surprised face. He would have never imagined someone like Kouryuu taking him flying. But something seemed to invade his mind at that time.

An eerie song seemed to pierce his mind and cause him pain. He tried to shake off the thought, but it was no use, the song was hurting him.

"Hakkai! What's happening?" Kouryuu asked the brunette in his arms.

"Kouryuu… Do you hear that song?" Hakkai winced in pain.

"I don't hear anything…" Kouryuu replied.

"I hear it… And it's hurting me!" Hakkai wailed as the voice seemed to pierce his body. A bright blast of ki blew Kouryuu away from him. Kouryuu continued to levitate and watch Hakkai, expecting him to fall but unnaturally, he was still in the air, struggling to fight the piercing song. Unfortunately, the song seemed to finally shock him and his body started to fall back to earth. Kouryuu quickly swooped down to catch him. As the immortal put Hakkai back on the ground safely, he looked at him with worry.

"Am I too late?"


	19. The Moon

Chapter 18: The Moon 

Disclaimer: The legend of Asura and Astraea is based on the original myth of Astraea or the constellation "Virgo". Mind you that the version of the myth I wrote is not the original myth. It is only modified for the story.

Kouryuu tucked Hakkai into his bed. Worried with what would happen, he watched over Hakkai and prayed that the Silver Apocalypse wouldn't happen yet.

Meanwhile, in the town where Toki said the sutra would be, the two immortals found the shrine untouched by anyone. Dust was abundant and the shrine was uncared for, rotted by time and disfigured by abusing graffiti. Toki went in to retrieve the sutra. Fortunately, no one was there to stop them.

"Well then, that was easy." Quietus smiled as he took the sutra from his companion.

They were about to leave the town when Toki stopped in his tracks. Quietus looked behind him curiously, wondering why Toki didn't want to continue walking.

"What's the matter, Toki-san?"

"Ne, Quietus-san…" Toki began.

"Doushite, Toki-san?" Quietus beamed at his companion.

"Could you do me a favor?"

"Sure."

"Please tell Hakkai that I still love him. I'll just stay here. I don't think he'd like to see me again since onii-san has already given him happiness."

Quietus showed a gentle smile. He nodded his head and started to turn away.

"I will…" He murmured and smiled before taking to the air, "I bet he still loves you, too…"

_But that was a lie._

_I'm not completely sure if he still has memories of him. _

_I know it's wrong to be lying but I can't break his heart…_

_Toki… If only I could be your Hakkai… If only I could fill that empty hole that yearns for him._

_His warm touch._

_His warm eyes._

_I so envy him…_

Meanwhile, the zombies crowded around Hibiemi. Their bodies were disfigured and rotten. Their burial clothes were larva-eaten, decomposed and soiled with earth. Most of the older zombies were mere skeletons. On the other hand, the younger undead were horrifying. Their skin was stretched over their bones, their eyeballs literarily popping out of their sockets. Fortunately, Hibiemi's father, Tenshin, was still intact. She need not fear the appearance of her hundred-year-dead father. 

"Destroy… Mirror… Astraea…" They murmured in chorus as they continued to approach the immortal. The brunette slashed away the ones who came too close, but they recovered from being smashed against steel and continued to crawl towards the disgusted one.

"We… heed… Asura… Destroy… mirror… Astraea…" They moaned again. Hibiemi's eyes darted left and right looking for a way to destroy them. But due to the pressure around her, she decided to drive the zombies away while she formulated a plan. The wind spun around her in a powerful whirlwind knocking away all the zombies who dared to come near her. Her eyes continued to dart around for an answer. Then something caught her eye: A single zombie had smashed against the lit gas lamp Hibiemi left near Tenshin's grave. The zombie screamed in horror as the flames engulfed him, turning him into ashes.

"Exactly what I need… A little light." Hibiemi smiled, "Now if only I had a lighter…"

"Oi! Looking for this?" She heard Nii's voice from the roof. Looking at him, she saw him throw a lighter down to her.

"Arigatou, Nii-hakase! Are you sure you can handle your share of the zombies?" Hibiemi asked as Nii jumped down from the roof to join the battle.

"I may not be as adept in magic as Quietus is, but I'm a sorcerer. I can handle this good enough without a lighter." Nii smiled as a ball of flame materialized in his right hand, "Iku yo, puppet…"

While Nii helped the younger immortal with zombie extermination, Komyo and Quietus appeared in the lobby of Hoshizora Manor.

"So all we have to find now is the Muten Kyoumon, right?" Komyo asked the brunette immortal.

"Hai. Judging by the amount of trouble Hibiemi is in now, I believe she's already found something related to the sutra." Quietus smiled, "Perhaps after the zombie eradicating task, we'll have more leads to where the sutra is."

"Then, why don't we help them out if we need the sutra right away?"

"Good idea."

But as the two immortals reached the base of Hoshizora Hill, they found Hibiemi trying to squeeze information out of the final zombie, her father, Tenshin Hoshizora.

"Tell me, 'tou-san… Tell me what do you mean by the 'mirror'…" Hibiemi pleaded.

"We heed Asura… Must destroy the mirror of Astraea…" Tenshin stared emotionlessly at his daughter, "We must not go against Asura…"

"Asura…" Komyo tapped his chin, "Isn't he the evil deity?"

"But what does he mean by the 'mirror of Astraea'?" Quietus asked.

"We won't be able to squeeze answers out of this zombie here… Let's go to Tenshin's room." Nii said as he set fire to the final zombie. 

As the flames died down and all that was left were ashes, Hibiemi waited until all the others were away. Kneeling close to the ashes, she murmured a mourning prayer and closed her eyes. The wind carried the ashes of all the dead away from the hill. As the wind finished its job, the young immortal opened her eyes.

"Rest in peace, 'tou-san… I won't forget you. Although I may be immortal, your memory will always be engraved in my mind…"

But something seemed to bother her. Upstairs, in Tenshin's room, the three older immortals checked the room for any clues on the Muten Kyoumon. Fortunately, Nii found something of interest.

"Hora. I think I've found it. It's a page torn out from an old book." Nii announced to the other two, "It's an old myth about the Golden Age. The gods sent Astraea, goddess of innocence and daughter of Themis, to bless men with abundance. Unfortunately, a dark deity was in her way. The dark deity of the east, Asura, wanted men to grow with dark knowledge, not with blissful innocence. The goddess banished the deity into a stone and buried it underground. 

"Unfortunately, a curious traveler from the farther east found the stone underground and fell prey to Asura. He grew with dark knowledge and resented the age of innocence men were living in. Soon, darkness spread and the Bronze Age came. Astraea couldn't bless a world tainted with darkness so she fled to the skies and became the constellation 'Virgo'. 

"The race that was born out of the traveler carried Asura's stone. Dark knowledge was passed from generation to generation until the first daughter of the race did not find Asura's dark knowledge; instead, she was blessed with everything Astraea had. It seemed as if although Asura maybe sealed in the stone, Astraea's spirit was still there to protect the race, like hope in the bottom of Pandora's box. 

"The race expanded and Asura's power grew weaker with the number of daughters being born with Astraea's innocence. He needed mortal blood to live and to gain that; he secretly toyed with destiny from afar. So he set up destiny in away that every daughter born to the race beginning that day would die of suicide."

"But it was foretold one day that someday, someone with Astraea's spirit will overthrow Asura." Komyo finished for Nii, "Maybe this time is now since you, Hakkai and Hibiemi are part of the legacy and you know what the legend said. Asura's knowledge was passed down to the males holding the stone while the females holding the stone inherited Astraea's innocence. Perhaps one of you has Asura's complete dark knowledge and Astraea's complete innocence…"

"But something is wrong…" Quietus shook his head, "I don't think Hakkai really inherited Asura's complete dark knowledge… Perhaps someone else has… Maybe destiny mixed up our inheritance… I wasn't born with complete dark knowledge. Come to think of it, both Hakkai and me inherited half of each. Half of Astraea's innocence and half of Asura's darkness. I don't know what was born on Hibiemi's side but all I know is, it's not completely Astraea."

"Does the word 'mirror' ring a bell?" Everyone turned their heads to see Hibiemi standing in the doorway, "They said 'Mirror of Astraea' when they were attacking me. Perhaps I am the mirror. A complete opposite of Astraea."

"Or maybe a reflection." Komyo said as he thought, "If you are the mirror then there should be a stronger one. Less powerful than Astraea but more powerful than you are."

"Maybe it's Hakkai…" Nii said in thought.

"Minna! I think I've just found something better…" Quietus smiled, "I've found the Muten Kyoumon."


	20. The Sun

Chapter 19: The Sun 

_A/N: Sadako? Sadako desu ka? Wah! Kowaii da yo!!_

"Everyone… Everyone will suffer…" Hakkai's eyes snapped open. Unfortunately, Kouryuu wasn't in the room. He was outside, making sure that no one would dare come near Hakkai. 

"Sou na…" Hibiemi felt a shuddering in the wind, "Hayaku, minna… The Silver Apocalypse is rising…"

"This is bad… We must get these sutras to Kouryuu quickly…" Quietus said worriedly.

"But will Kouryuu agree to help us?" Komyo wondered, "I sense his resentment against this council becoming strong again…"

"He must help us!" Hibiemi snapped, "If he doesn't then everyone will die!"

"Well then, let's get going…" Nii nodded as he teleported away. The other immortals followed suit.

A dark aura surrounded Hakkai as he got out of bed. His silky brown hair covering his right eye. His yukata lay loosely around him as if he didn't care how he appeared. He slowly walked out of the room, whispering Kouryuu's name every step he took. Every now and then he stumbled. His body was weakened by the power surges he was experiencing lately and he couldn't travel far. As he continued to walk, the small shrubbery growing along the base of the temple wilted and died. Hakkai was carrying death with him and he needed Kouryuu to help him.

Kouryuu spun around as he heard footsteps. Hakkai was stumbling towards him. His face contorted in despair, whispering his name in desperation.

"Kouryuu…" Hakkai stretched his hand towards his lover before he collapsed to the ground. Fortunately, Kouryuu caught him before he hit the floor. Hakkai looked at him with sorrowful eyes and murmured, "Everyone will suffer… Kill me… Before… I… I…"

"Hakkai!" Kouryuu shook the brunette in his arms as his mouth stood dry and open, trying to relay his message, "Hakkai! Don't give up! Please!" Hakkai only laid his head against his lover's chest; his hands grasped the immortal's dark clothing, desperately wanting to be saved.

"O…negai… Kouryuu… Tasukete…" Tears started to trickle down Hakkai's cheek; "Everyone will suffer… Because of me…" Kouryuu held Hakkai close against him. Although the dark aura around him was giving him a burning sensation, Kouryuu continued to hold Hakkai tightly.

"Kouryuu!" Komyo's voice rang in the air.

"Get away from him, immortals…" Kouryuu gave the immortals a dark glare.

"You don't understand Kouryuu! Please, help us seal his power…" Hibiemi pleaded.

"I won't! I'll only hurt him!" Kouryuu angrily snapped back.

"Hurt him? Letting that power surge through his body will only hurt him more!" Quietus argued, "Do you desire your love to die?!"

"Get away, immortals… Leave him alone!" Kouryuu pushed the older immortal away with a blast of telekinesis.

"You leave me no choice…" Hibiemi stepped forward, "As the mirror of Astraea, I must fulfill my duty and save my brother from Asura…"

"What do you mean by that…?" Kouryuu asked harshly.

"Hakkai is the descendant of Astraea. Asura took over his body to make use of his hidden power. Only the sutras can drive away Asura, but only other people born with Astraea's powers can seal Asura again. But since you won't help us drive out Asura with the sutras, I have no other choice but to drive him out the hard way… And that will surely torture Hakkai…" Hibiemi signaled for her companions to move away from her. She stretched her arms in a summoning position and a blue pentagram appeared underneath her.

Music brought out from the color-changing tears of innocence… Drive out the evil you have sealed so long ago… Play upon the wind… Pierce the souls of your tainted descendants and purify…

"Play upon the wind… Song of Astraea!" The blue pentagram underneath the youngest immortal suddenly glowed green. The wind began to blow from all directions, hitting Hakkai from everywhere. The music began to play in his ears, making his body ache with pain.

"What's happening?" Quietus asked as he watched his brother squirm in pain. He also felt a sharp pain hitting him in the head, but it was just about the same impact as a regular headache.

"Astraea's song drives out Asura's darkness away from whoever hears it. It doesn't hurt me. But I can understand that it hurts you and it hurts Hakkai even more…" Hibiemi explained as the song continued to play. But as Hakkai screamed in pain as Asura was being exorcised from him, Kouryuu's anger flashed and he fired a bullet at Hibiemi. Unfortunately for him, Nii had stopped it in mid-air and made it drop to the ground.

Sparks of dark aura emanated from Hakkai's body in reaction to the song. The sparks jumped and shot the summoning immortal down.

"Hibi-chan!" Quietus looked with worry to his fallen sister. Kouryuu stood unmoved and looked at Hakkai. The mortal brunette slowly got up from his fallen position.

"Serves her right for defying me…" Hakkai spoke as the black aura continued to protect him, "Puny immortals… You demi-gods can't certainly win against the dark deity…"

"Hakkai… Let's leave these pesky immortals alone…" Kouryuu said.

Hakkai glanced at Kouryuu and shocked him with a blast of his dark aura, "You are not to address me as Hakkai, peon… I am Asura… The dark deity that was sealed in the Chameleon Heart for over a thousand years. I am not this Hakkai of which you speak. I am only using this pathetic body to bring forth the Silver Apocalypse. Oh well…" The possessed Hakkai looked at the fallen immortal lying unconscious on the ground, "I don't need anyone bothering my master plan… I shall take away your powers then, immortals, and transfer them to me…" The possessed brunette laughed evilly as the auras of the other immortals were sucked up.

"Kuso!" Nii exclaimed as he tried to use his sorcery. None of his immortal powers could work.

"We can't do anything… Not even levitate…" Komyo said as he looked at his hands, "What do we do now?"

"At least I can do something…" Quietus sighed in relief when he found out that his innate ability of shape shifting was still intact, "Hmm… What if try…" He looked at his sister's unconscious form. 

"Now for the final act…" The possessed one rose into the air. The mark of the immortal was carved under his right eye, "I shall destroy this whole world…"       


	21. Judgement

Chapter 20: Judgment A/N: I don't know why, but Qui's got a really weird plan up his sleeves… 

"Not if I can help it…" Hibiemi's voice hung in the air. Puzzled, Nii and Komyo looked between the unconscious Hibiemi and the conscious one standing against the possessed Hakkai with a smirk on her face. The two were exactly alike from head to toe. From the same childish face and single golden earring on her left ear down to the same deep blue ribbon-belt that held her single-breasted trench coat together. 

"Hn… You're being a fool… Why do you think you can defeat me with that body?" The possessed Hakkai laughed. The response came with a ball of ice magic thrown at him.

"There! You can't fool me, Asura… Even if you've sucked out the powers of my real body, taking on the body of another immortal will give me strength." Hibiemi folded her arms across her chest and looked the possessed one straight in the eye. Her mouth curled into a smile that was unlike her.

"I remember that deceiving smile…" Kouryuu said as he looked at the conscious Hibiemi, "It's Quietus! Kono…"

"What?!?" Nii said in shock, "Qui's taken on Hibi-chan's body?!?"

"It's understandable though… The real Hibi's knocked out…" Komyo said checking the youngest immortal's condition.

"Anyway, since everyone knows my real identity now, I might as well try to do what I should have done before Kouryuu was turned immortal." The fake Hibiemi levitated into the air, "Kill you." Sharp blades of dark magic materialized in the air and shot at Hakkai. They struck right through him, blood slowly pouring out of the wounds.

At the sound of Hakkai's piercing cry of pain, the real Hibiemi awoken from her unconsciousness. As soon as she raised her eyes to see what was happening, she saw the dark immortal blood flowing. Her eyes widened in horror. "O-o-nii-chan…" She stammered as flashes of her past came rushing back to her, "Don't die!!" A powerful hurricane suddenly surrounded her, interrupting Quietus' magic and slamming the other immortals against the trunks of trees. The black magic piercing the possessed one diffused and being an immortal, his wounds healed up.

The possessed Hakkai laughed. Quietus shape shifted back into his real form and fell to the ground.

"Hibi-chan… Why did you…?" He asked the frightened immortal for an explanation.

"The past… is haunting me…" She said frightened. Her hand clutched her neck. Her own immortal blood trickled from between the fingers. The older immortal noticed what was going on. A cut on her neck from her outburst was making her bleed to death.

"And so the legacy once said… 'To let the brother live… The sister must die…'. What a convenient lie I've planted…!" The possessed Hakkai laughed with demonic exuberance, "And so Astraea said, 'Her treasures will come by the passing of eleven souls'. Here we are now! Eleven souls in the legacy have perished and the lie I had planted begins to repeat itself again! 'Treasures'! Hah! The mirror has fallen, the sword is broken and the orb couldn't resist me… None of you can stop the destruction of the world…"

"Not unless I can…" Kouryuu's voice boomed from where he had fallen, "Makai Tenjou!!" All five sutras wrapped themselves around the brunette. He writhed in pain and his body began to emit steam. The sutras were expelling Asura from him. A dark aura flowed out of Hakkai's mouth like liquid and fell to the ground. It took shape and became solid. A tall pale man with long black hair and dangerous golden-brown eyes draped in rich red and black silk adorned with ancient gold ornaments appeared before them, clutching at his heart and breathing heavily. The sutras unwinded themselves off Hakkai and he fell to the roof. Fortunately, he had enough energy to stop himself from slipping.

"Asura…" Hibiemi muttered before she casted a healing spell upon her wound. Unfortunately, she was weakened from her loss of blood. But luckily, Quietus and the other two immortals regained their powers.

"Well then… Your time is up, Asura…" Nii smiled as he cracked his knuckles. The three immortals were about to blast the dark deity away when Hibiemi shook her weakness away and stopped them.

"We can't kill Asura. The best thing we can do for the moment is seal him."

"Seal me… You fools jest… You can't seal me… You can't destroy me… I am a god. And I will live forever…" Asura smirked as he breathed heavily, weakened by the exorcism.

"No. You can't live forever, Asura…" Hakkai said as he rose himself to a sitting position on the roof, "Immortal or not, there is always a way to destroy you. Every life must have its end and your end has come… Komyo, Nii, Hibiemi, Quietus, Kouryuu. Please seal him now then destroy him."

 The other immortals agreed. Komyo summoned a medium-sized rock to his hand and all four of them began to chant a sealing prayer. Since Asura was weakened, he was easily sucked into the stone held in Komyo's hand. The sealing stopped. Asura was resealed.

"Well then, what do we do with the stone?" Kouryuu asked as he took Hakkai off the roof. He looked tenderly into his lover's face. The mark of the immortal was clear upon his features. Hakkai was going to spend eternity with him.

"We destroy it." The youngest immortal smiled, "That may be the only way to get rid of that bastard."

Komyo threw the rock into the air. Kouryuu quickly broke it into pieces with one shot. The pieces of the stone disintegrated and was scattered by the wind.

But this was only the beginning of eternity…


	22. The World

Chapter 21: The World A/N: Ahh… Toki's gonna appear again. This time he meets up with Hakkai. This chapter's kinda soft… It's just a breather from the whole Immortality thing. And… I'm planning to create an omake short multi-chaptered humor story that revolves around Hakkai and Sanzo's lives as immortals. This will be good… Kehehehe… 

Piano music filled the sun-lit halls of Hoshizora Manor. The soft melody swayed through the hall, enchanting the new morning. The melody reached Hakkai's ears and his eyes slowly opened to see that he wasn't in the temple. He was lying in a rich four-poster bed draped with soft green linens and he was in the arms of his Kouryuu. The sunlight shone on Kouryuu's body, outlining his rich blonde hair. Then he remembered what happened last night after their battle with Asura.

_"Kouryuu… Hakkai… Welcome to the council. Or should I call you Sanzo now, Kouryuu? You should have remembered that Nii and Komyo had left for their respective domains last night while you were asleep. Komyo's made you Sanzo while you were asleep. Happy to have you in the council, Genjo Sanzo, Cho Hakkai. You won't need your present identities now. You'll be eternal. So therefore, go back to your past identities. Go back."_

The wind softly whispered as the melody from the manor's lounge continued to play. They were part of the council now and this was their base. The Hoshizora Manor purchased by Cho Hiro and owned by its real owner, Hoshizora Hibiemi. Hakkai snuggled against his lover's chest. He was so warm. Although last night's battle was fierce, Kouryuu was sleeping soundly with Hakkai in his arms.

"But you're not Kouryuu… You're Sanzo. My Sanzo… for eternity…"

Hakkai brushed away the monk's hair from his forehead and brushed his thumb against the chakra. Somehow, it was darker than it was when he first met him. His fingers trailed down to the mark of the immortal under his right eye. The black triangle pointing downwards to the middle of his cheek accented by a thin circle in the middle meaning 'Eternal' and 'Protector'. Sanzo's eyes fluttered awake at Hakkai's touch. He looked into the brunette's face filled with tender love.

"Ohayou… Hakkai." This deep voice softly greeted accompanied by a clear smile.

"Sanzo…" Hakkai's face turned pink with surprise, "You're smiling…"

His comment was answered by a surprise kiss. Sanzo's mouth left Hakkai's and brushed against his forehead, "That'll only be between the two of us…"

"OHAYOU!!" Goku crashed through the door.

"Baka saru!!" A folder full of sheet music came into contact with Goku's head, "Don't dare disrupt the music!"

"Damn… Hibi's in a bad mood today…" The cheery heretic rubbed his head. In contrast to the rest of the people in the manor, only he and Gojyo were mortals. 

Fortunately he didn't see Sanzo smiling.

Meanwhile, as Goku and Hibiemi bickered over what's for breakfast on that day, Quietus stepped out of his room (which was formerly Tenshin Hoshizora's…) with his hair untidy, his emerald eyes still drowsy from being awakened by loud bickering noises, his pajamas randomly unbuttoned due to much tossing and turning in bed last night and his glasses forgotten. Being slightly near-sighted and his mind still fuzzy from being awakened, the oldest immortal accidentally bumped into Goku and thinking he was a chair, sat on him.

"This chair's quite fuzzy… Hibi-chan… Did you buy a new chair?" He said drowsily. Hakkai sweatdropped at the sight of his twin acting slightly idiotic. 

"Please wait, Sanzo… I'll have to do a little favor for Qui-chan over there…" The brunette apologized, slipped on his glasses and went into his twin's room to fetch his glasses. As soon as Hakkai got his hands on Quietus' glasses, he slipped them on his brother's face and splashed a glass of cold water from the bathroom on his face.

"Eh? What's going on?" Quietus blinked as the cold water hit his face. He fixed his glasses and took at look at what he was sitting on, "GOKU!?!"

"Eternity has only started and it seems that we're all part of a giant house of idiots…" Sanzo murmured to himself as he watched the silly scene of Quietus apologizing to Goku, Hakkai negotiating what to have for breakfast and Hibiemi randomly changing her mind about the breakfast menu.

"Pancakes with blueberry syrup it is!" Hakkai laughed as Hibiemi finally made up her mind about what to have for breakfast.

***

Later in the afternoon, Hakkai and Sanzo bid Gojyo and Goku goodbye for the day. They knew that they were dead to the rest of the world and couldn't go back to their everyday lives. They would have to live in disguise and under alias so no other mortal would know of their existence as immortals.

"Ne, Sanzo…" Hakkai turned to his blonde lover, "How do you think will we live on eternity?"

"I don't know…" Sanzo looked into the emerald eyes of his beloved, "But we have each other. I don't think those elders you have for relatives will help much…"

Hakkai chuckled as Sanzo finished his remark. Although Hibiemi and Quietus have replaced Komyo and Nii as the new immortal elders, they were still his relatives, no matter what life or century did they come from. But strangely, he felt an immortal's aura nearby.

"Hakkai…" Sanzo looked at the brunette next to him who scanned the area for where the aura was coming from.

"Come out…" Hakkai asked calmly, his voice loud but calm.

Sanzo realized whose aura was felt, "It's Toki."

"Toki?" Hakkai asked, "I haven't seen him for about six hundred years."

"Let me correct that… It's supposed to be five hundred ten years." Toki appeared behind the two immortals.

"Why five hundred ten?" Sanzo asked.

"Time distortion made by Nii Jen Yi." Toki said, "It happened during the time of the 'sorrow' shikigami. Or in other words, Nii's puppet, Hoshizora." Toki began to explain.

"Ah! So that's why Nii called Hibi-chan 'puppet'! But why?" Hakkai asked.

A soft plush bunny doll was thrown into the scene.

"Hibi-chan?" Hakkai spun to see who threw the doll. The young brunette stood at the gates of the manor with a smile on her face.

"The shikigami was inside the doll. The shikigami amplifies sorrow and creates illusions. During Homura's tournament back when you were a Hoshizora, when your team entered Homura's hall, the shikigami created a time distortion to bring the illusion of Kanan. The time warped and Destiny thought all four of you were dead, so they overlapped time. In your time, it looks as if a century had passed since the death of your former life, but in truth, it was only ten. You were twelve years old when your other life died." Hibiemi explained. 

Hakkai threw the doll back, "So that's why my life fell apart when I was twelve." Sorrow was evident in his emerald eyes.

"If so, I guess Sanzo's tragedy happened when he was thirteen." Hibiemi closed her eye.

"But I don't want to linger on the past." Sanzo muttered with impatience, "What are you here for, Toki?"

"Hakkai." Toki looked at the older brunette holding back his sorrow, "I want to know if you still love me."

Hakkai's eyes grew wide at the question. The wind stilled. Sanzo looked at his lover, afraid of the words he might spill forth.

"I… I care for you, Toki… But my heart belongs to Sanzo and nothing will move that…" Hakkai broke softly. Sanzo closed his eyes and hid his relief.

"Aa. I see. Arigatou, Hakkai." Toki nodded as he disappeared.

"Hm?" Hibiemi blinked as the wind began to stir from its slumber, "I don't get what's going on…"

***

Evening finally fell upon the Togenkyo town of Nijiyama. Dinner was a treat-out in celebration of the start of 'eternity'.

"KAMPAI!!" Gojyo cheered as everyone clinked their fancy glasses together.

"Wai! The food here's so rich! How are you able to afford this?" Goku looked hungrily at the banquet before him. The four immortals together with Hakkai's old buddies were dining out in the fanciest restaurant of all Nijiyama. The band played a slow jazzy melody as the six dined.

"My dad was an old customer here." Hibiemi smiled, "I made them believe that I was his great-grand-daughter, so they gave me a great-grand-discount."

"But they did say that we looked exactly like his children." Quietus laughed as he took a sip of his champagne, "The only difference was that Hakkai and I were twins!"

"Shh! You wouldn't like them knowing what our real identities are!" Hakkai nudged his brother.

"Mind you, it wouldn't hurt if I said you were Hakkai the second!" Quietus laughed again, feeling giddy thanks to the champagne.

"Right." Hibiemi sighed as she looked at a dessert cart passing by, "Monsieur! One blueberry cheesecake, please! Ne, Sanzo, would you like to grab something sweet? You know it'll be Hiro-niichan here paying for EVERYTHING."

Sanzo eyed the giddy Quietus unmoved by Hibiemi's remark and sighed, "Okay, I'll have the chocolate mousse then."

"I'm having chocolate mousse, too!!" Goku cheered.

"Carrot cake!!" The twins said in unison.

"I don't care, just give me an Oreo cheesecake." Gojyo ordered.

The party soon ended with Hakkai driving the sleek Chevy, Sanzo sitting shotgun and the other four cramped up in the back. The two immortal siblings looking through their windows while Goku and Gojyo argued drunken.

"I wonder how Toki's doing right now…" Quietus murmured.

"Hm?" Hibiemi's face turned at the sound of her brother's murmur, "What did you say…?"

"Nothing…" The brunette shook his head and went back to looking out the window.

"I suppose you're thinking about a certain someone…" Hakkai said softly to his twin, "I murmured like that when Sanzo was in search of the sutras…"

"It's nothing like that!" The older immortal shook his head and blushed, "I was thinking about that crested ibis in the zoo!"

"Crested ibis?" Gojyo looked at the immortal curiously, "Why don't you just say 'to-'"

"Urusai…" Quietus glared at Gojyo with his dark reaper's eyes.

"You're scaring him…" Hakkai chuckled.

Time passed and soon, by midnight, everyone was asleep and Goku and Gojyo had gone back to their apartment. No one decided to go out to hunt demons. But although all the lights in Hoshizora Manor were off, the blue light in Quietus' room were still on.

The ex-reaper was still awake, bothered by a certain need at the back of his head.

"Where is that damned instrument?" He muttered looking through his closet and drawers. He knew he had hid his old violin somewhere in the drawers of his room. Strangely, although he hadn't played the instrument ever since he found his sister, he felt a certain need to go back to playing the old instrument. Finally, after an hour of looking for the damned thing, he found it inside its sturdy leather case. A violin purchased during the long six hundred years he wandered across the globe looking for his lost family. The violin was slightly used, reminiscent of the days he used to perform to fund money for his travel. He held the instrument to his shoulder and bowed a single elegant note on it. He smiled and teleported to the roof.

"This is where I want to be… A fiddler on the roof…" He sighed, remembering a scene when he was still mortal. His brother, the flute player and artist and his sister, the pianist and composer, "We used to play so many tunes together… We're whole again. Can't we play that old music?" He smiled and thought of something for the upcoming September that year. He began to play a sweet tune remembering his old mortal life. A whole family of musicians who played for their own entertainment. He smiled and heard someone clapping beside him.

"Toki-san?" He blinked, looking at the golden-haired man who applauded him with a face as sarcastic as Sanzo's, "Ahh… What brings you here?"

"Bored." Toki grumbled as he took a seat on the roof, "Would you continue playing? I'm getting tired of all this damned silence. I'm getting tired of this modern world… For once, I'd like to go back to the past."

Quietus hesitated as he brought the instrument back to his shoulder, "Ha-hai…" He began to play a tune that reminded himself of his hidden feelings for Toki. The notes played like a cradle, Toki's eyes becoming heavier with the slow melody of the violin. Suddenly, the brunette immortal stopped playing and tapped the drowsy Toki on the shoulder with the violin's bow.

"You're sleepy, aren't you?"

"No… I'm not!" Toki huffed.

"I can tell when someone feels sleepy. Why don't you take one of the guest rooms tonight? I'm sure no one would mind…" Quietus smiled. Toki looked at the immortal's face with astonishment. The tone of voice and the kind smile were so close to Hakkai. If only his aura wasn't so cold and detached, then that would be the Hakkai he knew. His mind began to play tricks on his sleepy mind.

"Hakkai…" Toki murmured as his hand met Quietus' own, "Why are you so cold?"

"That was what I was going to ask, Toki-san…" Quietus smiled at the strange fondness Toki had for Hakkai, "Why are you so cold? So unlike your brother…" Strangely, his hidden feelings for the drowsy immortal had seemed to melt the coldness of his aura, "Why can't you be warm like the sun you are?"

"I'm alone…" Toki murmured, unaware of whom he was really talking to, "And I just want to be loved…"

"Oh Toki…" The emerald-eyed brunette's eyes glistened with fresh tears as clear as crystal, "If only I could be yours…" he whispered as he held back his tears of sympathy.

***

"Oi, Hakkai…"

"Yes, Sanzo?"

"Do you hear someone on the rooftop?"

"No one, Sanzo… It must be your imagination…" Hakkai chuckled as he squeezed his lover's hand and pecked him on the cheek, "Now, go to sleep… We have eternity before us…"

"And Hakkai…"

"Yes, Sanzo…"

The golden-haired drew Hakkai close to him and kissed his lips.

"Why are you so warm?"

"That's because you're my sun… My golden sun…" Hakkai held Sanzo closer and closed the distance one more time before falling asleep with his head buried in his lover's golden tresses.

Eternity will continue… Never ending like a circle It will never stop So I will forever love you… 

_~Owari_    


End file.
